Ender's Ally
by Alice Prince
Summary: This is the story Alice Prince. Alice has fought the Bugger War and won it. Will her personal battle end with success? Also please note that I've updated the summary to the current point. It will start when Alice's monitor is removed. R&R please.
1. Monitor

NOTE: This is the first revised chapter of Ender's Ally. Frankly, the old chapters suck (meaning the first twenty, lol) and I've decided to revise them. So, without a further ado, here it is.

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Alice Prince wasn't listening to the overly peppy nurse who probably said recited this speech to at least sixty other kids a day. "I'm sorry?" Sitting on the examination table, she crossed her legs.

"-designed to be removed without infection." The nurse plowed on as if Alice hadn't spoken. "You'll have a tickling feeling and some people say that they have a feeling that something is missing. So I'll tell you now- it's your monitor and it isn't there."

The doctor walked in. "Ah, this must be Alice…Prince," he said, consulting his chart. "You can go, Eliza."

She nodded. "I'll leave you to it." She left and closed the door behind her.

The doctor checked her pulse and blood pressure, among other things; Alice didn't know what else. She was just glad to be finally getting the monitor out.

"Ready?" The doctor put clamps on either side of the monitor. "Here we go." He yanked it out.

Alice's body arched backwards. Pain, all consuming pain wracked her small frame. The doctor grabbed Alice's shoulders and tried to relax her. "Eliza!" yelled the doctor. "I need you!"

The nurse ran in, gasped. "What happened?"

"I don't know! Just help me relax these muscles!"

They injected her with something. The needle went in just above where the monitor used to be. It burned, but wherever the fire spread, Alice's muscles gradually unclenched.

The doctor and nurse sighed in relief.

"Keep her here for an hour. If she doesn't start talking in fifteen minutes, call me in," said the doctor.

Eliza nodded. She looked down at Alice with pity; she lay doll-like on the table, still breathing lightly. "What do they expect? They leave these things in for three years, connected directly to the central nervous system…without infection, my ass."

"I know. Just keep an eye on her." He started to walk out. She sat up, groaned. The nurse gently pushed her back down. "I need to take out your IV." Eliza gently pulled back the tape, pulled out the needle.

Alice gasped and grimaced. "Where's my mom?"

"Outside, with your sister."

"I'm going."

Without waiting for an answer, Alice swung her legs off the table and fell to her shaky feet. Grabbing the side of the table for support, Alice followed the signs, approaching the waiting room, where her three year old sister Alexa and mother Linda awaited her.

Alice was getting closer to the door. Eliza rushed to her side. "I need to-"

Alice was quick to cut in. "No."

"Alice…"

"I can do it myself!"

They reached the swinging doors to the waiting room. Eliza opened them for Alice. The room was well lit; ceiling to floor windows sent prismatic light flying whimsically about the room.

Linda and Alexa were sitting in the middle of the room. Linda, who looked at the opening doors, rushed over to Alice. She knelt down in front of Alice and hugged her tightly. "Let's go home. You father has the day off." She stood and held out her hand. Alice crossed her arms indignantly.

"But I'm _six, _Mom!"

"It's for stability, Honey."

Albeit reluctantly, Alice grasped her mother's hand. Alexa ran to them, feeling the new monitor that has just been put in earlier that day. She gripped Alice's hand. "Let's go, Mommy and Sissy!" She pulled them towards the exit.

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As they pulled onto their street in San Diego, California, they saw an IF-marked car in front of their house. Two soldiers stood in front of it. One was tall, statuesque, even. The other one was rather short. And yet, the taller man seemed to defer to the smaller one.

Linda parked her car in their driveway. She got out and helped Alice and Alexa out of their seats. She led them to the front door. The two soldiers were upon them before any of Linda knew what was happening.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you Linda Prince?" asked the shorter of the two.

Linda nodded curtly.

"I'm Captain Dimak and this is Lieutenant Edmund Ray. We're here on behalf of the International Fleet. May we come in?" asked the shorter man, Dimak.

Again, Linda nodded curtly. Alexa looked up at the men with a mixture of fright and awe. Alice knew that this was about her, so she reacted as she thought she should- with straight silence. Linda ushered them into her living room. They sat down.

Alice made to leave the room.

"Alice, can you come and sit down?" asked Dimak.

Alice looked at her mom for approval. Linda nodded and patted the seat next to her. Alice did the natural thing- she sat opposite the IF officers, away from her mom. She folded her arms.

"Alice, Linda," said Dimak, regarding them both, "I'm going to cut straight to the chase."

As if on cue, the door opened once again. Alice's father Marty stood in the doorway.

"Hi Linda. What's going on?"

"I was just getting to that," said Dimak as Marty sat down next to Linda. "I'm going to cut straight to the chase," he said again. "We've come to invite Alice to come to Battle School."

The discussion went on to explain a bit about the school itself; well, what wasn't classified anyway.

"There's this game that all the children play. It's like playing Buggers and Astronauts, but you have fellow soldiers fighting alongside you and weapons that work. Your success depends on how well you learn, how well you fight.

"It's a hard life, but let me tell you this. Every student who makes it through their first year has never failed to get a commission as an officer."

"How many make it through their first year?" asked Alice.

"All who want to."

They went on to explain more about the launch, and even more things; everything that wasn't classified.

"How long do I have to decide?" asked Alice.

"Until you get in the car with me," said Dimak. "After that, you're at the mercy of the International Fleet."

"So it's voluntary after all!" Linda crossed her arms.

"For you two, the choice was made when she was born. Bur for Alice, the choice hasn't been made at all."

Alice didn't really want to go, but as the IF soldiers talked to her, she relented to the prospect of leaving her family to become a soldier.

"I'll go."

Dimak faltered, but recovered quickly. "Tell me why."

"I'm needed."

"Not good enough."

Alice thought for a minute. "I don't want to go, but I will."

Dimak nodded. He and Edmund rose. "Let's go."

Linda had begun to cry. She held Alice closely. Marty hugged them both, his silent tears falling into Alice's brown hair.

Alexa ran into the room. "What's wrong, Mommy?" She pattered over on her toddler feet. "Daddy? Sissy?"

They didn't know what to say to her.

"Alice…is leaving."

Alexa's eyes went wide. "Why?"

"She's going to a new school, Honey. Up in the stars," said Linda tearfully, still holding Alice.

"You mean where I go if I pass the test?" asked Alexa.

Marty nodded. He let them go. Linda sat up. "Say good bye to your sister, Alexa."

She ran over to Alice. "Bye bye, Sissy!" She hugged Alice tightly.

The moment passed. Alexa sat on Linda's lap. Alice stood up. "Let's go."

Dimak, Edmund and Alice walked out the door. Just as they were about to leave, Alice hugged her parents and Alexa one last time.

"Be strong, Alice. We love you."

She walked back over to Dimak. "I love you too." As she turned away, Linda and Marty saw the single tear that spilled down her face.

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NOTE: I've doubled the chapter length! I do believe I win. Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Launch

NOTE: Here's the second revised chapter of Ender's Ally. It's soooooooo much better than the old version. I hope you like it.

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Alice had always been an independent girl. It made departure a little easier, but not by much. As they walked along the front lawn to the IF car, Dimak made to grab her hand, but Alice sped up. No patronization for her. She appeared to be venturing into this new chapter in her short life fearlessly, but it was only a façade. It was all Alice could do to keep from crying; so she performed a ritual of calming that her mother taught her when she was younger. She recited a line of Hebrew, the Sh'ma, the cornerstone of the Jewish faith- _Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai ehad. _Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the lord is one. She repeated this line several times and the urge to cry was gone.

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There were twenty kids in her launch- twenty kids who were as street smart, book smart, cunning or charismatic as the next kid. They were all dressed in a light blue jumpsuit, all in a single piece. It felt weird, but Alice figured that she'd better get used to it.

She walked along the space port admiring the news cameras that were there. She soon ran into a boy who was also wandering around aimlessly. His name was Nate Winter.

"You know, _Alice_ isn't such a great name for Battle School," he teased.

"Oh yeah?" She grinned. "Neither is _Nate!_" She laughed. They continued walking.

"Wait for it!" They stopped in their tracks. "I got it!" He turned to Alice. "Prince!"

Alice cocked her head to one side. "Hmm?"

"I'm gonna call you Prince!"

"That's great, Nate!" She gave him a high-five. They resumed strolling around the general area, but soon stopped again. "Frost!" She grinned again. "Your name is Frost!"

Frost turned to her. "Yeah! I'm feelin' it!"

They eventually came to a knot of people- the whole launch was there. A few girls were clustered around the fringes of the group- one with extremely curly black hair, one with shaggy red hair, one with straight blond hair and one with wavy brown hair.

One of the officers was passing the group. "This has no precedent." He said it quietly, like he didn't think any of them would hear.

Prince walked right up to him. "What isn't, sir?" asked Prince sweetly.

The officer jumped. He recovered quickly. "The fact that there are five girls in the launch."

"Why is _that_ surprising?" Prince feigned surprise. Her eyes were deceptively wide.

"They just don't often pass the tests to get in." This officer was obviously flustered. "Too many centuries of evolution are working against them."

"How many girls are at Battle School now?"

"Maybe one or two," he said. "I really don't know."

"Oh. Ok then." Prince turned to Frost, seemingly engaged in conversation.

The officer walked away looking horribly confused.

When he was a safe distance away, Prince turned to the other girls. "Just one more example of stupidity in the military."

They laughed.

Another officer came up to the launchies. It was Dimak. "Time to go." He ushered them along the runway towards the shuttle. "Go up the stairs one at a time. When you come to an aisle with empty seats, take one. There aren't any window seats."

The launchies laughed again. Prince was clustered in the middle of the group. Frost was on her left; to her right were the other girls in her launch- Dina Mizrachi (the one with black hair), Petra Arkanian (the brunette), Rox Meyers (the blond) and Brenn Momette (the red head). Brenn insisted she be called Mome.

They sat down, buckled themselves in. They were shown videos about space flight, the history of the space shuttle, and their possible futures among the great starships of the IF. Very boring stuff.

The launch wasn't bad- a little jolting, some trepidation that this might be the first failed launch since the early days of the shuttle, coupled with disorientation and nausea.

Prince looked to her left, over Frost. A few seats over, there was a boy who wasn't talking much, a strawberry blonde. He didn't speak unless spoken to, but when he did, he was charismatic and hypnotic. He'd be a great commander one day.

She asked the girl next to her, Dina, about him. "His name is Dink Meeker, I think…"

Prince nodded.

A voice came over the loud speaker. It told them that they were about five minutes out. It took at least thrice that amount of time to decelerate and dock. They were led to their barracks.

Everyone milled around the entrance for a few minutes until Dimak came in. He instructed them to pick bunks. Naturally, the girls bunked together in a corner. Frost tagged along too, so there were an even six launchies to three beds.

Prince bunked below Dina. She sat on her bed and looked at a locker that stood open at the foot of her bunk. There was a note. "Place your hand on the scanner and speak your name twice."

Prince followed the instructions. Four compartments popped open. One had four jumpsuits like the one she was wearing, and one white one. Another had a small desk, just like hers at home.

The largest one had the real prize. It looked kind of like a space suit, but there was no airtight seal that could be found. Even so, it'd effectively cover the whole body. It was tickly padded and stiff.

There was a pistol within. It looked like a laser gun- the end was solid glass- but Prince didn't think they'd give real lasers to kids. Would they?

"It's not a laser," said a boy.

Prince looked up.

"At least that's what Dimak said," the boy said. "I'm Bonzo Madrid. What's your name?"

He spoke with a slight Spanish accent. And quietly too. His black hair shone and his eyes were also black, like a bottomless pit. Prince got to her feet. "I'm Alice. People call me Prince."

"Nice to meet you." His tone was unconvincingly nice. Prince crossed her arms.

"Dimak said that we need to go to lunch." Frost walked back over from the front of the room. He eyed Bonzo and Prince nervously. "Let's go Prince."

She walked over to Frost lightly. She turned back. "See you later Bonzo."

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NOTE: Well, I guess we'll be seeing more of all the old gang. :)


	3. Friendship

NOTE: Here's the third revised chapter. Enjoy~!

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The launchies left the barracks. When they came to the mess hall, they were surprised to find it empty. When someone asked him why, Dimak gestured vaguely around the room. "Since you all just came on board today, you're on a separate schedule from the rest of the school." He then told them to get in line and to find a seat.

Prince's food looked good; even more so since she was so hungry. She gobbled it down and finished in good time. Each mouthful was punctuated with conversation with her new class mates. Frost sat with the girls, and each talked a little about home.

Petra's mom was the shepherd of the neighborhood. Mome loved her family more than anything. Dina hated her dad because he went psycho after her mom died in battle for the Israeli Defense Force. Rox lived next door to the Wiggin family; who had three kids. Frost lived in New York, on Fifth Avenue. His dad was a rich lawyer. Prince told them about her family too.

Eventually, they finished eating and they went back to their barracks.

"We have to get you guys used to the new schedule, so you'll have to take a nap before dinner," said Dimak.

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The next day, Dimak came in to their barracks. "After breakfast, come back here and put on the flash suit on."

They did, thoroughly perplexed.

Dimak arrived right as Prince buckled the last buckle on the suit.

"Follow me."

And he walked off. Their launch followed him.

Eventually, they came to a door. Dimak told them to enter and they did.

Prince tried flexing her legs. The suit was very stiff and resisted more than any clothing they'd ever worn before. She did notice that the legs kept moving, and strongly, once she get them going. Prince got a hold of a hand hold scrunched her legs and pushed off.

She spun towards the other side of the room where Frost, Rox, Petra, Dina and Mome were clustered. She hit them, but they clasped arms around Prince so she wouldn't fly away again. "That. Was. AWESOME!" Prince grinned through her helmet. "Let's race to that corner over there." She pointed. "Last one there saves farts in a milk bottle!"

Mome looked over. "Sounds like fun."

"All right then." She looked to either side. "One…two…three!"

They all took off in various directions. Prince plotted a course that involved one rebound and she quickly got there. However, she didn't beat Rox or Mome. They were the first three to get there. Dina was last and they all laughed about it.

"Let's have our first was. Us against them," said Dina. "We can see what the guns do."

Prince grinned a wild grin. "Yes!" She unclipped the pistol and laughed. "Follow me!" She yelled back and turned her head forwards. She shot ahead of herself a few times and hit only one. The boy she hit went stiff. It looked like she couldn't move.

Prince tried to turn around and face the other way. It worked. She saw her friends zooming towards her. And they were firing. Within a few minutes, the whole group except for Prince, Frost, Mome, Dina, Petra and Rox were frozen. The six of them laughed hysterically until Dimak came in and unfroze everyone.

They grumbled, saying that it wasn't fair that they shot them when they weren't ready.

"And why weren't you? You had your suits just as long as they did!" Dimak said. "Anyway, congrats, you six."

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After they got cleaned up, they dressed in their regular suits again. Dimak led them all the game room. And there they roamed for an hour and a half, until it was time for dinner. They ate and went back to bed.

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NOTE: I know this one's short, but I wanted to move on quickly. Anyways, the next one will be longer. (Probably)


	4. Promotion

Their launch arrived in early May. It was now one year and six months later. Prince and her group had never been closer. They came in from lunch laughing and went to their bunks in the corner of the room. Prince sat down and a little slip of paper bounced up as she did. Prince picked it up.

_Alice Prince_

_Assigned Snake Army_

_Commander Kip Byrd_

_Effective immediately_

_Code green brown brown_

_No possestions transferred._

Prince dropped the slip onto her bed in shock. Her friends on the top bunks (Dina, Frost and Mome) slid down onto the floor.

"You guys too?" asked Frost.

They all nodded. Then they looked around at the other beds. There were slips on all other beds.

"Let's go to the commissary and get our new uniforms," Prince suggested.

"Sounds good," said Frost. He turned. "Hey Bonzo!"

The Spaniard turned.

"Wanna come with us?"

"Where?"

"New uniforms at the commissary."

"Sounds good." He came over. "So what armies?"

"Snake," said Prince.

"Salamander," said Dina.

"Me too," said Petra. They smiled and stood next to each other.

"Hornet," said Bonzo with a sullen expression.

"What's wrong?" Prince asked.

Mome stood behind him. "Christ's holy totem poles! Your older brother?"

Bonzo shook his head as it hung from his shoulders. "Cousin, actually."

Rox patted him hard on the back. "Well, at least you won't be alone. I'll be in the same army."

For the first time that morning, Bonzo smiled weakly. "H-how 'bout the rest of you?"

"Wolf," said Frost.

"Flame," said Mome.

"Well, let's go then. No use waiting," said Prince.

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After the commissary, they got directions to their barracks. They were in the same direction, so they went together. The group got to Mome's barracks first- Flame Army. She went in.

A little ways over, they came to Frost's new army- Wolf- and he went in.

One deck up, they came to Salamander's barracks. Dina and Petra went in.

Mome, Bonzo and Prince were the only ones left. They strode down the hall way and went to the end of the hallway. Their barracks were only two doors away from each other. Mome stopped. "See ya!" She went in ahead of Bonzo. He stayed with Prince for a moment.

"See you later." She started to walk away.

Bonzo made a split seconds decision. "Wait!"

Prince turned around. Bonzo hugged her tightly. After a moment, he kissed her twice on each cheek. He whispered into her ear. "La Buena suerte, my amor."

Prince blushed. Living in San Diego, she knew exactly what he said. She pushed him gently away. "I'm sorry Bonzo. I just don't feel that way about you."

Without waiting for a reply, she walked away as quickly as she could. The seeds of madness were sown into his mind.


	5. Death of a Commander

NOTE: Soooo…no author's note last time. I guess I was just in a hurry. XD I wrote one for it when I posted it on deviantart, and here it is: Much, much better. *wipes sweat from brow* Hope you liked! There's more to come. Wow, this is the quickest I've ever updated two chapters of a single fic. Ever! I win! (I like my coffee like I like my women- in a plastic cup!) (Anyone who gets that reference gets an ehug. ^^). So…I guess I just want to get these revisions done so I can post up all the new chapters that I've also been writing. MASS UPDATE FTW! So, after this, it'll be "Queen of the Valkyrie" and then which ever chapters I think I need to update. Yes, they will be shorter, but the quality will have improved ten-fold. XD Without further ado, here is the latest revised chapter. (On another side note, I'm skipping a lot of time because the important stuff is just beginning to happen. Also, I'd rather stick with the formula I've established. Enough digressions.)

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It was rare for commanders to keep soldiers in their armies for a year, let alone for two. Prince and friends were the exceptions to that rule, per say. The armies that Prince's friends were in didn't do too badly, but there was an intense rivalry building between Snake and Hornet.

One night, it all came to a head.

Snake and Hornet armies were bucking for first place. The commanders, Kip Byrd and Sebastian Madrid, wanted first place badly enough to hurt. One night, during Hornet's practice, most of Snake Army came to ambush them.

Thirty seven Snakes came, including their commander Kip.

Sebastian and Kip faced off alone. Most of their armies were spread around the battle room, fighting their own fight. Movements were amplified intensely inside, so Sebastian's uppercut was twice as strong as it normally would have been. It hit in _just_ the wrong place and Kip's neck was broken. He died shortly after.

Graff decided to disband both armies, and form two new ones- Jabberwock and Hawk. Now all he needed were the commanders.

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"Colonel, you _can't_ be serious! They're not ready for command! Any of them!" Dimak swore angrily. "The girls, I can understand, but what on Earth do you see in _Bonzo? _It's a disaster waiting to happen!"

Graff sat up straighter in his desk chair, and folded his arms tightly. Quietly, he said, "You dare to impugn on my judgment?"

"Yes," Dimak said flatly. "They're not ready!"

"I happen to think otherwise. Their teachers think that they are. I do too. I've watched them a lot in the Battle Room, Dimak, and they handle authority well. I've-" Graff stopped. "Why am I justifying myself to you? Call them in. All of them- Bonzo Madrid, Brenn Momette, and Alice Prince."

"But-"

"If you contradict me again, I'll have you flogged for insubordination! Do I make myself clear?"

Dimak saluted him. "Sir, yes sir!"

"Dismissed," said Graff with a wave of his hand.

Once the door was firmly shut, Graff leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head and sighed, thinking, _Ahhh. It's _great_ to be the boss._

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It was lunchtime. Prince and her friends were there, laughing at an inside joke that they'd discovered a while back.

"Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinker!" said Prince, dragging out the word for as long as her lungs would allow. She coughed.

Dink thumped her back as he laughed. "That your own fault, Prince."

"That it was, Dutch Boy. That it was."

"For cereal," said Mome with a giggle.

"What?" asked Frost.

"It's nothing," said Mome dismissively.

Dimak chose that moment to walk up. "Brenn, Alice, Bonito, come with me."

As they rose, Prince said, "What did we do?"

Dimak beckoned urgently with his hand. "Now."

"Ok, ok then," said Prince.

They walked away, Dimak leading. He took them through the school, in a way that none of them had ever been before. His arms were crossed behind his back. He fumed.

"What's got his briefs in a bunch?" asked Prince quietly.

Bonzo and Mome suppressed loud, mirthful laughs, managing to turn them into coughs at the last second. Dimak paused and turned around to glare at them. He continued.

_What's going on? We didn't do anything._

Here, where everyone had authority, was where Dimak's three young charges were scrutinized carefully.

Eventually, they reached a door. It was an unremarkable thing, all steely and industrial looking. Dimak opened it and all four of them went in.

Graff sat behind his desk, hands folded, head resting atop. He gestured to the three chairs in front of him. The three children sat down. Just as Graff was about to speak, Dap opened the door and came in. "Sir?"

"You can wait, but if you want, you can stay here."

Dap nodded and stood next to Dimak.

Graff's official welcome speech sounded over-rehearsed. When he was done, Graff told them the important information. He looked at Prince. "Prince, you'll command Hawk." He glanced at Mome. "Mome, you'll command Jabberwock." Lastly, he looked at Bonzo. "You'll command Salamander, Bonzo."

Bonzo wore a smug smile. _It's about time you gave me an army, you fat old man._

Graff addressed all three of them. "You all know where the commissary is." They rose. "But before you go, I need to give you these." Graff produced three stacks of paper. He handed one to each of them. "And _now,_ you're dismissed."

The children left. The door closed.

"This is madness, sir," said Dap.

"No, it's a game," said Graff. "And I'm very good at it." He crossed his hands again.

"Sir?"

"Dismissed. Both of you."

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NOTE: How does the banter sound? Opinions, please! Thanks. Look forward to the next chapter within a couple of days. If it's not there by Sunday, assume that I've been captured by the government and that I have no hope of survival.


	6. Bonehead Madrid

NOTE: Another chapter already! I'm on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire!

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Prince went into the game room during free time. She had just finished a game, the 3-D one where you controlled some ships and you fought against an enemy. Prince got off of the seat, having just lost to an extremely arrogant boy from Tide. Prince was distracted, but today, her diversion had nothing whatsoever to do with Battle School.

Prince was, though it was a taboo, thinking about her family, most notably her little sister Alexa. She'd been so young when she left…so innocent, not yet corrupted. Her big eyes and brown hair…

Someone tapped her shoulder. Prince jumped. "Y-yes?"

It was Dink, wearing his Rat Army uniform, the only one of her close friends who didn't have command. "Ho Prince."

"Ho, yourself. Whatcha need?"

"Well, this Launchy says she knows you."

Prince was confused. "What?"

He moved aside. And it was Alexa who stood there.

"Y-you…p-passed?"

Alexa nodded. "People call me Lex now. He said you're called Prince."

"When did you get here?" asked Prince.

"A couple of hours ago," said Lex with a grin.

Prince gaped. She tried to restrain the tears that were threatening to fall. She took Lex's hand and took her into the hallway. From there, she took Lex down two levels and into her private quarters. Here, in the privacy that Prince coveted, was where she felt secure enough to let her guard down. She hugged Lex tightly; her hand held her sister's head closely. "Lex…"

Lex hugged Prince tightly too. "I wouldn't rest until I got here."

Prince laughed. "You've always been stubborn."

"And a good actress," aid Lex with a grin. "Along the way, I discovered that this is where I belonged."

"Along the way?" Prince released her; she still held Lex by both shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"My time with the monitor." Lex smiled. "Mom and Dad were so different after you left. Mom spent lots of time sitting on the couch, probably thinking about you. Dad become…distant. It destroyed them when the IF came to get me."

Prince's smile faded. "I-I can imagine." A bell rang somewhere in the distance. "Let's go. You'll need to go back to your barracks."

Lex grinned. "I can't find my way back."

"I'll go with you. It's lunch time for me and your barracks is near the mess hall."

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Prince went in, got her food and sat down with her friends. Dink noticed Prince's eyes. "Who was that Launchy?"

Prince gulped. "My sister."

Silence.

Bonzo sneered. Dink glared at him. Everyone else followed his lead. "Get out of here. You've been skating on thin ice with all of us for a while."

"Fine then! You're all a bunch of incompetent rat farts!" Bonzo rose forcibly, slamming his hands down as he did. He took his tray, and with one last glare, he left.

"Well, at least he's gone," said Dina.

"I dunno about you guys, but I want an excuse to just mouth him off like there's no tomorrow," said Mome, crossing her arms as she watched Bonzo stalk away from them.

"Eh," said Frost with finality.

Little did Mome know, that chance would come all too soon.

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In regards to training, Bonzo didn't have any original ideas. He trained his army with cliché techniques that undermined his authority and his soldiers' creativity and initiative. Once a pattern was set, they were to follow it through. He also used scare tactics. Long story short, Dimak was right- Bonzo wasn't ready. As Dimak had thought to himself all those weeks ago, this was probably a sick game that Graff alone knew the rules to.

Pretty soon, one of Bonzo's toon leaders and his second got transferred to another army. In exchange, Bonzo got two Launchies that were small- clearly underage. Their names were Wabe Momette and Ender Wiggin.

Mome and Prince, on the other hand, were revered commanders. Hawk and Jabberwock had just finished their three month training periods and had their first battles the day before. Both had lost, but both armies vowed not to lose the next game and to train as hard as they could. Both Mome and Prince did things that no one else had ever though of- like giving all four toon leaders a second, for instance.

Rox had command of Cat army, Dina had Platypus, Frost had Scorpion, and Petra had Phoenix. All had gotten their orders the day before and were eager to take command of their various armies.

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One afternoon, Mome was going to practice with her army. Before she left, a message popped up on her desk.

_Come to the gym._

_It's urgent._

The message's sender was disguised and Mome didn't know whether or not to trust it. In the end, Mome went with her army, stayed for a few minutes to see that all was well, then she left for the gym.

When she arrived, she saw Wabe. Something was wrong with him- he was sniffing and his eyes were red. She didn't see the other figure in the room, a tall eleven year old boy with black hair. "Oh, get over it, you big baby," Bonzo yelled. "That's an order! You're in _my_ army now, and there's no crying if you're a Salamander."

_Thank you, Graff. Now I FINALLY tell Bonzo to go suck an egg._

As she approached, Bonzo went on. "Why should YOU care that your mom died?"

"Christ's holy totem poles! That's enough!" Mome ran in front of Bonzo and slapped him hard. So hard, he was knocked to the ground.

He got up fuming. He opened his mouth, but Mome was quick to interject. "You are the most incompetent commander I've ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes on!" She continued on for as long as she could (an impressive fifteen minutes).

By the time she'd stopped, Dimak had been sent to investigate the cause. "And just _what_ is going on here?"

Wabe's eyes were still red. He tapped his sister's shoulder. "You explain, please."

And so she did.

Dimak crossed his arms. "I'll have to think about what will happen."

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NOTE: I'm cutting it here, and starting the next chapter right away. There'll be a new one up sometime today. Hope you enjoyed.


	7. A Bit Of Romance

NOTE: Here's yet another chapter. This is the fastest I've ever gone with regards to writing fan fics! I hope you all like my revisions.

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Later that day, Wabe went back to his barracks and found a transfer slip on his bed. He was going to Jabberwock! Elated, he practically ran all the way to the commissary and got fitted for his new uniform and flash suit.

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_TRANSFER TO HAWK ARMY_

_Commander: Alice Prince_

_No possestions transferred_

_Effective immediately_

_Code: Red, black, red_

_This has _got _to be a joke…_ and so thought Lex Prince as she sat in her barracks. _Obviously, this is a plot by the administration. _It was about six months after she had been promoted to Condor army. _What are they playing at?_

She got up to go and get her new uniforms and flash suit.

As she neared the commissary, she saw a boy in a Jabberwock uniform walking out. He carried his extra uniforms and his flash suit. She continued walking. She would have passed him had he not said, "Ho Lex."

She stopped in her tracks. "Do- do I know you?"

He turned around, set his things down and walked towards her. "I'm Wabe."

She gasped. "Wabe!" She ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry Lex, but I have to do this!" He leaned in closely and kissed her. To his surprise and delight, she responded.

"You need to get to your barracks," said Lex after they separated.

"And you need your new uniforms," said Wabe.

They were both red in the face, but that didn't stop them from sharing another kiss.

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At the same time, Prince and Mome sat in the game room.

"No way, girl. I dead cereal."

"Cereal? I knew you nuts, Mome."

"No, no, it makes sense, neh?"

"Explain…"

"Cereal sounds like 'serial' with an 's' an' 'serial' with an 's' sounds like serious, sabe?"  
Mome elaborated.

"It a stretch." Prince chuckled.

"But it makes sense, neh?" The red head tapped her friend's shoulder. "Neeeehhh?"

"Eh," she replied dazedly.

"You lost your train of thought. Why'd you lose your train of thought? Bad stuff happens when you lose your train of -"

"SHUT!" Prince demanded.

"Touchy!" Mome sniffed. "But what's up?"

Prince nodded to the corner of the Game Room. Three boys were arguing playfully over a game – Rose, Carn Carby and Dink.

"What'dya think about him?" Prince sighed.

"Which 'him?'" Mome asked. "Cos' all three I like. Rose, well you know; Carn's my favorite Aussie boy; and Dink's been my-our- friend since the Launch!"

"Dink! I mean Dink!" Prince specified.

"And what kind of opinion are we talking?"

"Well, I... I… I…" Prince stammered.

Mome gasped. "Ooh, Prince, are you blushing? Awww you are! That's so cute! I knew you liked Dink, I knew it!" she cooed.

"Shh! Not so loud! He right there!" Prince hissed. Mome smiled, a real, warm, genuinely blissful gesture that almost never appeared.

"You two could be so cute together!" Prince gave no response. "Can I tell him, please?"

"TELL HIM?" Prince exploded. "No way! Are you fuckin' insane? No! No way! Why would you even – NO!"

"Christ's holy totem poles, Prince. It was only a suggestion!" Mome whined. "And why can't I?"

"Totem poles? You said you weren't religious."

"I'm not, and you didn't answer me. Why not?"

"Because I'm faithfully keeping your secret from Rose and everyone else, and what kind of a friend would you be if you leaked _my_ secret?" Prince threatened. "Besides, there's no way he likes me, so why bother?" Mome sighed.

"Let me tell you a secret of Mr. Meeker's." she muttered into Prince's ear. "You know he likes to draw?"

"No?" Prince whispered back. "Really?" Mome nodded vigorously.

"And guess what – pardon – who he likes to draw the most, hmm? Wild guess." She hissed.

"Wh… who?" Prince squeaked.

Mome let the conversation hang in the expanse dramatically.

"You, duh!"

"If you're lying, I'll rearrange your internals!"

"What've I got to gain by lying, neh?" Mome seized her best friend's hands. "He _is_ in my army, you know. I've seen his desk. Loaded with doodles… mostly of you. And you don't say he likes you? No, he's obsessed with you."

"Seriously?"

"For cereal."

"I can always kill you later if you're lying." Prince hugged her friend.

"For cereal, for cereal…" Mome hummed.

Prince walked away from Mome, towards Dink. When she was close enough, she called, "Ho Dink!" He turned. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said. "Guys, just go on without me."

They walked away to a different corner of the room, away from Mome's prying eyes. Once they couldn't be overheard, Prince blushed slightly at what she was about to do. She remained silent.

"What's up?"

Silence.

"Prince."

More silence.

"Seriously, if you don't talk soon, I will leave."

Prince exhaled. "Ok, Dink. I just have to say something." She blushed deeply and immediately, she hung her head a little as she put her hand behind it. She mumbled her reply.

"I didn't catch that."

She said it a little louder, and this time, he could hear. He lifted her still red face up. "One thing's for sure, I will acquiesce your request." With that, he kissed her. The two stood there for maybe 10 minutes, or maybe it was one million years. Neither knew, nor did they care. The two of them also didn't care if anyone saw a commander and a toon leader of rival armies kissing.

Hawk and Rat despised each other, and the romance of Prince and Dink just intensified it over the next few weeks.

While Dink and Prince were off in a secluded corner of the station some weeks later, Hawk and Rat attacked each other. It was a brawl the likes of which the school had never seen, not since the brawl between Snake and Hornet armies. Roughly 15 soldiers from each army participated in the attack. Among them were some of their worst comrades, and that was saying something. All who participated in the attacked were iced.

That also happened to be the day that Dink was promoted to commander of Rat.

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NOTE: Couldn't find a way to end it other than the way I did. What do you think? The only reason I'm skipping over mist of Battle School is because the things I want to focus on take place after Battle School.


	8. New Soldiers

NOTE: Seriously, is there something wrong with me? This'll be the third chapter in one day! Not that there's anything wrong with that, but still! Three fu*king chapters! I will harness this incredible amount of inspiration and I will do as many chapters as I can before the life fades from my lungs! (Wow, a little dramatic…lol). The names on the old roster were COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY horrible. So I redid them.

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Prince had just finished her homework. She was about to shut her desk off when a new message icon popped up. She clicked it.

_This is the new and revised Hawk Army roster. A hard copy will be sent to you sometime tomorrow for your personal reference._

Ella Abel

_Sudi Abimbola_

_Arnaud Amiot_

_Lukas Baltz_

_Yuval Biton_

_Korey Britt_

_Adrian Bulous_

_Carlos Caio _

_Julian Chazan_

_Lino Cruz_

_Okuma Dayu_

_Baron Davis_

_Phillip Davies_

_Feris Emery_

_Yelizaveta Ivanova_

_Forster Jones_

_Majd Katz_

_Canpolat Kaya _

_Fremont Lee_

_Uri Levin_

_Derya Mansur _

_Jeffery Massey_

_Lesley Neal_

_Lex Prince_

_Simon Rainer _

_Reginald Rivera_

_Kemp Robinson_

_Felix Rotsch_

_George Segel _

_Julian Sturmer_

_Anant Tina_

_Hirota Togai_

_Hewitt Turner_

_Rufus Turner_

_Nuygen Tuan_

_Adam Varga_

_Sylvain Vibert  
Lukas Wallroth_

_Michael Wiese _

_Sharbal Yosef_

After the list, it specified fifteen names- the new soldiers who had replaced the iced ones. Thankfully, all of her veterans had remained. Sighing, she laid back in her desk chair. After a moment, she got up and went to her army's barracks.

"Hawk…" Prince yelled.

"ARMY!" They completed the ritual.

"Toon leaders, to me!" All five of them rushed to her side. "And all fifteen new soldiers as well!" The fifteen of them hastened, lest they look like a slacker in front of their new commander- Lex, Feris Emery, Yelizaveta Ivanova, Forster Jones, Majd Katz, Ella Abel, Sudi Abimbola, Arnaud Amiot, Lukas Baltz, Yuval Biton, Reginald Rivera, Kemp Robinson, Felix Rotsch, George Segel and Julian Sturmer. Prince pointed to three of the new soldiers. "You three, go to Sharbal." They did. "You three, go to Michael." They did. "And you three, to Julian, you three to Adrian and you three to Uri." They all did. Then she addressed the group. "These are your toon leaders. Know them and obey them."

They nodded.

"We're on the morning schedule, practice right after breakfast."

They nodded again.

"Toon leaders, if your second isn't a part of this army anymore, let me know."

They nodded.

"Lex, please stay here, but the rest of you are dismissed. Formal Hawk training begins tomorrow."

They saluted her. "Yes ma'am!" They left.

Lex was left standing alone with her sister.

"Come with me, Lex."

She did. They went a little way away from the barracks. "Anything new happen?" Lex shook her head vigorously. "Are you sure?" She shook her head again. "Nope, you're not."

A genuine look of surprise spread across Lex's narrow face. "How do you know?"

"Mome told me what happened with you and Wabe." Lex's face turned completely red, but she had some ammo of her own.

"And I heard what happened with you and Dink."

It was Prince's turn to flush. "You've learned to play our game," Prince noted with approval.

"Eh," Lex said.

They stood there and talked for ages. Eventually, the lights went out.

"You know, I'll have some trouble finding my way back in the dark," said Lex.

"Me too," Prince said. She giggled. "But it's not far to either of our beds."

"I know," said Lex. She laughed heartily.

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NOTE: Seriously, I am on fire. One more chapter may be coming your way.


	9. Battle With Dragon

NOTE: Seriously, I am on a fan fic fix! *dances* Fourth chapter of the day!

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The notice came exactly three days after the new soldiers had arrived- seven weeks after Prince gained command of Hawk.

_BATTLE__ NOTICE_

_Dragon Army_

_Commander: Ender Wiggin_

_1100 hours_

It was 1047 and she was in her private quarters. "SHIT!" Prince sprinted out of her private room. If she caught her army now, then they could get ready and not be late. Prince pulled on her flash suit like there was no tomorrow and sprinted out of her room and down the corridor.

She stopped abruptly and saw them. "Hawk Army!" They turned. "We have a battle!" She sprinted towards them and crashed into one of her new soldiers; they all toppled over.

Of course, their opponents, the legendary Dragon Army, commanded by the most celebrated commander in the school, Ender Wiggin, happened to be jogging past at that moment. "HALT!"

Enders walked up (down) to Prince, as she lay there in a heap. "This is who we're fighting? I thought you were good."

Ender rose and jogged back to the head of his army. As Dragon moved further and further away, Prince shook her fist in the air and called out, "I'll get you, Wiggin, and your little army too!"

Lex, still lying there, asked, "Uh… Prince, don't we have a battle to get to?"

Prince, now red in the face said "Fuck! Hawk Army to the battle room!"

They arrived. Prince sent Lukas to check it out. He came back.

"Clear, bright. They haven't come out yet either."

"Thank you."

As Hawk Army received their orders from Prince, they carried them out. "A and E go left and right! B and C, up and down! D goes straight out! I'll be with A! Let's go, go, go!"

It was a brutal affair; the battle had no clear winner until the last few minutes. Dragon pulled a crazy stunt, and so won the battle.

Prince cursed as she felt herself freeze. She saw her opponents pass through the gate. The lights came on as the game ended. Anderson came in to personally congratulate Ender. "Congratulations, commander."

Dragon Army formed up and Hawk Army unfroze. Prince rebounded (she was close to a wall) and slowed herself to receive Ender's formal surrender. She shook his hand. "Congrats, Ender. Good game."

He shook it.

It wasn't Hawk's first battle; their ratio of wins to losses was 5:2, so Prince wasn't too humiliated as she walked into the commanders' mess for lunch. Prince got her tray, and placed it next to Dink, then slid onto the bench, extremely close to him. As they discussed whatever happened to them that day, Prince saw Ender sitting alone. "I'll be right back, guys." She rose and walked over to Ender.

"Ender?"

He looked up. "Yes, Prince?"

"I noticed that you were sitting alone. Do you want to come and sit with me?"

"Sure." Ender mentally put her on his list of people that qualified as human beings. He rose, and walked to her table.

He slid onto the bench, and resumed eating. Petra was across from him, with Mome and Rox and either side. Across from Petra was Prince and on either side of her was Dink and Ender. Next to Ender sat Dina and across from her sat Frost.

They all began to talk and unknown to any of them, a new era began: an era of friendship.

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After the battle, Prince still had her army come to practice. They gathered around her in the middle of the battle room disappointed.

"Cheer up, Hawks. Know this, we've still won twice as many battles than we've lost. That is great guys! We're still in the top five, at number two! We can do this! HAWK!" Prince bellowed the last word; it echoed in the battle room, which apparently had some pretty damn good acoustics.

"ARMY!" Hawk yelled back.

Prince divided Hawk into two mini-armies, A, B and half of C toons against the rest of them. Prince commanded one force, and Uri commanded the other half. Uri's half won, though barely.

After the mock-battle, Prince assigned a couple of moves for the army to drill. They did them and did them right.

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NOTE: The chapters are better now, aren't they? I think so.


	10. Battle Between Lovers

NOTE: I just want to get this revision done! I've got several new chapters for several fics ready to type: Princess Rider, The Raven is Eternal, Hero of the Olympians, and even Ender's Ally (the new one- it advances the story) and Queen of the Valkyrie. I'm going to work hard to get this finished! *fist in air* LET'S DO THIS THING!

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The next day at dinner, only Prince noticed that Dink wasn't eating anything. She turned next to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "What's wrong, Dink? You look a little down."

His tray continued to be unnoticed as he related the events of the day, ending with the fight between Ender and Bonzo.

"He walked away from the bathroom with me. There was blood all down his back, and when we got to his room, he broke down completely."

There was silence.

"What happened then?" whispered Dina after a while.

"I don't know," said Dink. "I left him alone-" He stopped in mid-sentence as he glanced up at the score board. Three boxes were flashing- one each for Dragon, Griffin and Tiger. "Those no good dirty bastards! How dare they do this to Ender!"

The group turned. "This is wrong. They've borderline abused him," said Prince with scorn.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it," said Mome.

"Is he all right?" Dina whispered. "Bonzo, I mean. I know he's an insubordinate pinprick who should go suck an egg, but I can't help wondering. What if it's another Byrd?"

"Who cares? I mean he was a dick before, and he was always a dick," said Rox matter-of-factly. "I think the real question is- do we even really care?"

Prince shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess not…"

"I didn't actually see Bonzo, but from the amount of blood on Ender, I think he…bit the dust, so to speak," said Dink quietly. "But I think Rox is right- do we even care that he's gone?"

"Nope," said Frost blatantly. "I never liked him."

"Oh well, let's put our past behind us. Hakuna matata," said Prince.

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In the middle of the night, Prince stirred to see her door close, which could only mean one thing: they had a battle. The "Battle Fairy," as Dink called it, was the way the armies got their battle assignments. She fell back into her comfy pillows and slept through the rest of the night, dreading what ever battle was to come.

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Prince stirred to find the notice on the small desk that commanders were given.

_BATTLE NOTICE_

_Rat Army_

_Commander: Dink Meeker_

_0845 hours_

_Great…just great. Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later._ And then she noticed the time. 0815. _Just enough time to get the army warmed up._

She got up, and put on her flash suit. She jogged down the corridor until she reached her army's barracks. They were just beginning to stir. "Hawks, we have a battle! Let's move! I won't tolerate anything less than absolute victory!"

Lex was in the middle of the barracks. _What's got her briefs in a bunch? _She jogged to the front- her suit was already on. "Who's the battle with?"

Prince gave Lex a meaningful look.

"Dink?"

"What do you think?" Then Prince addressed the army at large. "Let's go! I want you all warmed up before the battle! Let's go, go, go!" Prince jogged at the head of the column of soldiers. She led them down to the gym. She ordered them to climb the rope twice, and then did it twice herself. 0850. Then she made them lie down and relax. 0855. "Let's go!"

She jogged in front of the column again. This was a crucial battle- Hawk and Rat were tied in third place. Whoever won this match would be in second place. Both had better records than the current second place army, Flame. So, if Hawk won this game, then she'd surpass Flame and be in second place.

They formed up outside the battle room just in time. The force field disappeared.

"Attack plan Gamma. I'll be with C. Move!"

This plan was pretty innovative. After Frost's battle with Ender, he described a new strategy that he'd seen Ender using. A flexible strategy could destroy an enemy army. In her regular practices, Prince began to train her Hawks with that method- give them little restrictions and allow them to use their own ideas in order to achieve the overall goal of the army. It seemed to be working. In practice skirmishes, her soldiers were improving. Her toon leaders were blossoming into brilliant leaders.

This was the first time that the new strategy could be implemented. It was a simple one- her toon leaders would split up their toons, and their seconds would lead the other halves. They would all fan out, and attack from behind. Only this time, the toon leaders and seconds, and even individual soldiers, could use them own ideas.

Rat wasn't expecting this new strategy. They were sitting ducks, waiting to be destroyed, as Hawk obliged. However, Dink's training method was effective as well- for every Rat that froze, they took at least one Hawk with them. And it worked both ways. By the time the shooting stopped, there were only a handful of soldiers from each army left.

Prince and Dink were among the survivors. She took a group of soldiers aside and they knelt on the side of a star.

"All right, here's what we'll do," said Prince. There were about seven of them left. "You four," she said, pointing at four soldiers, "go with me. We'll try and open the gate." She pointed at the other three. "You guys distract them. Do whatever you need to. Go!"

It was a good plan. And it worked. Thanks to those three soldiers, Prince and her group managed to perform the ending ritual. The lights came on and the weapons stopped. Major Anderson came out personally. He used the teacher hook to draw Hawk to him. They formed up, Prince at the head.

Then they unfroze Rat and Dink came over to give Prince his formal surrender. They shook hands. "Good game."

Prince batted her eye lashes. "To you as well."

They floated there for a second.

"Are we done yet?" asked Dink.

Major Anderson nodded.

"Finally! I'm hungry!" exclaimed Dink. "We all had to go without breakfast, you know."

Anderson knew this, but he played dumb. "Huh? We never make an army go without breakfast!" Prince and Dink saw through his ploy right away.

"Bullshit. Hawk army, dismissed!"

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NOTE: So, how was that? Hope you liked! Also, for those who care, the Lion King reference is deliberate. I put that there because of a family tradition that the Princes have. Disney movies are classics and they always will be. When Lex and Alice were young, Linda and Marty played Disney movies for them. The really good ones- Little Mermaid, Lion King, Mulan, etc. It is a tradition in the Prince family. Yes, they are awesome. Alice picked up that saying, of course, from Lion King. She just gets more awesome by the day!


	11. Change

NOTE: I've been doing scholarship applications all day and I need a break! I am so sick of them by now…

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Prince sat with her friends at lunch. They chatted about something or another, something that didn't really matter. But after a little while, Prince noticed that Rox wasn't there.

"Dink, do you know where Rox is?" asked Prince.

"I dunno," he said. "Let's go look for her."

They rose.

"Oh come off it you two! You just wanna be alone! Neh? Neeeeeeeeh?" Mome teased.

"Eh," Prince confirmed.

It wasn't needed because at that moment, Rox came up to them. Her eyes were red and she had the hiccups. Immediately, Dina, Mome, Prince and Petra were by her side.

"Come on, this isn't where you want to be," said Mome.

They walked Rox all the way up to her barracks and sat her down on her bed.

"Ok, tell us what's wrong, Rox," said Dina.

Without a word, Rox showed them a piece of paper. Not a little slip, like they used for Battle School's internal communications. No, this was a full sheet. Rox was being transferred out of the school.

The other four girls gaped.

"We should go check if we've got orders too!" Dina yelped.

The four of them practically ran to their barracks. Sure enough, on each of their beds sat a set of orders. They all trouped back to Rox's room, where she sat where her friends had left her. They sat down in various places around the room.

Their orders were to arrive at the shuttle at exactly 1330- exactly one hour from then. Even though it'd make departure harder on all of them, they decided to go and talk to their armies. Up first was Cat- Rox's turn.

Her friends waited for her right around the corner, so Rox's former soldiers wouldn't see them. Rox took a deep breath, dried what was left of her tears and, attempting her usual confident stride, walked in. "ATTENTION!"

Cat sprang to attention. "YES, MA'AM!" The roar was deafening.

Rox lowered her voice. "I just have some news for you." She took another cleansing breath. "I have received my graduation orders. I don't kn-know your new commander, but hopefully, it'll be a good one."

Mak, leader of A toon, walked up to her. "Good luck wherever you're going."

She clasped him on the shoulder. "And you too, Mak."

She started to leave, but Make stopped her. "Hang on a sec."

He clapped slowly, rhythmically. Eventually, all the soldiers joined in, chanting Rox's name. Rox's eyes began to tear up a little, but she stopped herself. She raised both hands for quiet and she got it. "I'm gonna go slice up some Buggers for ya!" She punched the air and left the room. She grinned to her friends. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

It was Mome's turn next.

Mome tried to compose herself before she entered the Jabberwock barracks. She did a brief calming exercise, just like her mom had told her.

_All right, Mome, you can do this…_she thought to herself as she walked shakily in.

"Jabberwock!" Mome called confidently. "I have something to tell you; something important."

The Jabberwocks stood at attention as they listened to Mome.

"I have received my graduation orders." Had to hurry up; Mome couldn't hold herself together for much longer. She began to shake a little.

Wabe could see that his sister was beginning to lose it. He rushed up to her and hugged her comfortingly, like a big brother would.

"Your army's gonna be in good hands," said Wabe, trying to comfort Mome. "I know the new commander."

"Who is it?" sniffed Mome. The rest of the Jabberwock soldiers were sitting or standing there, simply in awe of their former leader.

"Me." The remaining Jabberwocks snapped to attention at their new commander.

Mome stood up and rumpled his hair. "Take care of my army, little brother." She kissed him on the cheek and gave him one last hug as a lone tear fell down her cheek.

It was Dina's turn now.

She subscribed to the quick and painless method, so she went in and the room immediately went silent.

"Listen up soldiers, because I've got something to tell you all. As you may, or may not, know, a bunch of commanders are graduating."

A few soldiers nodded. As if they knew what it's like, having to do this.

"I am…" she paused to take a breath, "among the graduates. I leave in one hour." She waited for a response and when none came, she walked right out of the room.

Now Petra.

Petra and Dina subscribed to the same philosophy- yank it out, don't worry about the pain. She was in and out, like it was nothing. And then, it came to Prince's Hawks.

Prince couldn't hold onto her sanity for much longer. Good thing Rox, Dina, Petra and Mome were there for her, just as she had been for them, even if they hadn't needed it. She took a deep breath and walked inside, with an air of authority and power that would make even the Hegemon himself quake in his boots.

"HAWK…" Prince began the ritual that occurred every time she entered the barracks.

"ARMY!" finished her soldiers.

"Lex, come here." Prince beckoned to her younger sister, now leader of A Toon, much to the disdain of other Hawks.

Lex rose and trotted over to Prince. "Yes, ma'am?" She said in an undertone to her older sister. Prince almost never told her to come over and when she did, it was serious; Lex knew that for sure.

"Tell them I'm graduating," Prince was really beginning to tremble now. "I'm afraid they'll think less of me."

"They will if you make me tell them for you."

Taking the hint, Prince rose to her feet. "Hawk Army, I have something to tell you. It's going to affect your daily lives here on a large scale." Prince gulped. All of that previous authority had vanished. "There's a ship leaving with some graduating commanders. I'm gonna be on it. Before I go, I wanted to ask you. Anyone here given command?"

"Hound," said Sharbal.

"Tide," said Michael.

"Scorpion," said Julian.

"Griffin," said Uri.

"I've got Hawk," said Lex. _It's a cruel joke…_she thought.

The rest of Hawk gasped in unison then saluted their new commander.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Prince and Lex hugged tightly. They separated. Prince made sure to clasp the hands of each of her former soldiers. As she left the room, her former toon leaders thought they saw a lone tear fall down her face.

As they group of five neared the departing shuttle for the long ride to ISL and Command School, Dimak told them that they'd have a short land side leave that would last about a week. They grasped each others' hands and walked forward, knowing that they'd never walk the halls of Battle School again.

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NOTE: This chapter took all day to write! I don't know why…but their time in Battle School has come to an end!


	12. A Royal Reunion

NOTE: I've been lazy about updating my stories and I'm sorry. I'll try to get them up by Sunday. On the shuttle ride, Prince had decided to rid herself of her Battle School nickname. Just sayin'.

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Sinse Mome's mother died, she went with Rox to her home in Greensboro. It was next door to the Wiggin residence. She and Rox walked down the walkway to the front door in a daze. Soon, Mome went up to the porch swing to give Rox some privacy.

Soon, Rox became aware of someone calling her name. It was a male voice, just entering adolescence. "Rox!"

She turned and her eyes filled with tears as she saw the boy that had haunted her dreams for many years. "Peter?"

He nodded and jumped the low fence. He reached Rox and held her tight.

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In San Diego, Alice was close to tears. She stood on her family's doorstep with a letter addressed to her parents from Graff clutched in her hand. She knocked on the door.

The door flung open, and there stood Linda Prince, looking older from worry; she had more lines on her face, but other-wise, she looked exactly the same as she has all those years ago.

"Mom!"

Tears were forming in the corners of both of their eyes as the pair of Princes hugged each other tightly.

"Why don't you come inside, Alice dear?" Her request seemed oddly formal.

"Come on Mom!" Alice sighed in the style of a Battle School commander who was frustrated with her soldiers. "I may be a trained soldier, but I'm still your girl!" As she said this, Lind believed it to be true.

They went inside and sat down on the couch, Alice regaling her tale to her mother. "And I know that you're thinking that I'm too young to like a boy, Mom…"

"What?"

"I said…"

"I heard what you said; I just didn't expect it," said Linda. "What's his name and where does he live?"

"Dink is Dutch, Mom, and he's completely wonderful," said Alice with a dreamy look on her face.

As if right on cue, the door opened, a set of keys still placed in the lock. "Linda, I'm ho-" The man in the door way stopped in his tracks. He wore a black pinstriped suit, with a blue shirt and black tie, his shoes shined. His hair was golden, as if King Midas himself had tapped his head; his eyes were a startling shade of green. "Alice?" He teared up a little.

Alice walked up to him and tugged on his earlobes, just as she'd always done when she was little.

"It really _is _my little girl!" Marty held Alice tightly.

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NOTE: It's really short, but at least the writing is better!


	13. Colonel Graff

NOTE: I'm running out of things to say here! XD Anyway. All stories are off hiatus and I will continue writing them and revising at the same time. Here we go! Excalibur!

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Rest. Blissful relaxation. It was all Alice could do for a few days. Her parents cared- that much was true. They loved her, liked being around her, but they didn't _know_ her. Sure, they could _try, _but their attempts weren't very successful. They could sense Alice's exhaustion, they could sense that she missed people and above all, they could sense her dread. They didn't know what she dreaded, but they'd be finding out soon enough.

Alice had some difficulty getting reacquainted with Earth food after so long with what they had been served in space, but she could stomach some Italian food. One night, Linda and Marty took Alice to a well known Italian restaurant down town; it was where Linda and Marty got engaged.

After some conversation, Alice finally opened up and _really_ talked to them. She didn't tell them about Dink, or the fact that this was only a short leave, but other than that, she told all.

They went home and Marty and Alice went to bed early. Linda was right behind them, but unlike Marty, she checked her desk for any messages. Just as she was about to retire, a new message popped up. She clicked it.

"_We will be calling at your place of residence in two days' time to come and get your daughter, who will be returning to her studies at IF Command._

_I hope you are agreeable with this arrangement._

_Colonel Hyrum Graff"_

"Humph." As if she _would_ be. He didn't understand what it was like to have children! He _had _top rip them away from her just like that, the bastard. Linda understood that Alice and Lex are needed, but that didn't make it any easier.

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Alice's last two days passed far too quickly. It was the morning of Alice's departure. She slept soundly on her bed; Marty had fallen asleep in a chair in her room.

Linda was the only light sleeper in a family of four. The rest of them could sleep through World War Three and it wouldn't wake them. At 9am came the knock on her door.

Linda padded down the stairs, her bun of hair disheveled and her eyes a little out of focus. As she approached the door, she dreaded what was coming, yet she accepted it. Alice couldn't remain home forever, now could she? Linda knew _that_ when she read the message that Graff sent her.

Linda approached the door, accepting the inevitable realization that her little girl _was_a soldier and that she'd be leaving again, for who knows how long. As she opened it, she let out an audible sigh of relief. It was the mailman standing there.

"Good morning, Linda."

"Morning, Vinny," said the exhausted mother as she stifled a large yawn.

"How long has Alice been home?" asked Vinny as he pulled out quite an official looking letter addressed to Alice and another addressed to her.

"A few days. I wish it were longer," said Linda wistfully.

"I do too; she's such a nice girl," said Vinny with a nod of his head. "You'll need to sign for these," he said, pulling out a pen.

Linda did. "Take care, Vinny."

"You too," he said as he walked back to his truck.

Linda started to close the door when she heard large footsteps on her walkway. She decided to open it again, and when she did, saw a large man with an IF uniform on.

"Are you Mrs. Linda Prince?" The voice sounded like a distant memory.

"Colonel Graff?"

"Yes, it's me."

Linda began to feel tears well up in the corners of her eyes. "Is it time?"

Graff nodded gravely. "It is. May I come in?"

Linda gestured to the couch. Underneath that calm exterior, she seethed. "You might as well."

"That would be lovely, thank you."

In the six years that Alice was at Battle School, the Prince living room hadn't changed much, as they couldn't get many new pictures of their girls.

"You might as well make yourself comfortable," said Linda as Graff sat down. She went upstairs.

By nine-thirty, Alice and Marty were fully awake. As soon as Linda woke her up, Alice could sense that something was wrong. Her mom's usually calm demeanor was ruined- she was flustered and irritable. And above all, she was despondent.

Alice got out of bed. She ran out of the room and into Linda. Alice saw that Linda was sobbing and she led her mom back to Marty.

Alice ran downstairs and she saw Graff sitting there on the couch, like nothing was wrong. When he spotted Alice, he stood up, briefcase in hand. When she saw him rise, she let her arms fall to her sides.

"It's time _already?_" Alice felt tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, but they quickly evaporated as her soldier senses took over.

Graff nodded gravely, and opened his case. Inside was a new uniform for Alice. This one, quite like the ones that she had worn as a Launchy oh so long ago, was sky blue. It had a black belt, and the letters CS were printed on the shoulder and there were black combat boots to go with it.

Alice grudgingly walked over to him and took the uniform from him. "I thought you were gonna give me more time here."

"We couldn't."

_Piss off,_she thought. _Like you would have in the first place._What she said out loud was "I'm going to shower." She stomped up the stairs.

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NOTE: Here's another chapter!


	14. Detachment

NOTE: To Jessicasaurus, I should be on fire, since I live in SoCal! Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! You rock! This chapter is dedicated to you!

And here is the latest chapter of the revised edition!

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Alice came downstairs to a somewhat apologetic looking Graff, a teary Linda and a vivid looking Marty. Alice hurried to hide so she could hear their conversation. She crouched behind the couch. No one saw her.

"I'm sorry that I have to take Alice back with me. I really am."

Marty scoffed.

Graff's eyes spoke the truth. "It pains me to do it, Mr. and Mrs. Prince."

"Do you know what you're putting us through?" whispered Linda.

"No," said Graff.

"First you take Alice. Then Lex. Now, you make us believe that you don't need Alice anymore." She stared him straight in the eyes. "And then you wrench our family apart again?"

Graff said nothing.

"Well?" Linda exclaimed. "What do you have to say? Hmm?"

"I _do_ have something else to tell you. It may make you feel better."

"I doubt it."

"It will," cooed Graff.

"Then what is it?" said Marty forcefully.

"Lex will be coming home shortly."

As that bit of information registered in the Prince family's minds, Alice revealed herself. "You're going to take me away _right_ before my little sister comes home?"

Everyone started.

Alice turned to her parents and spoke with disdain. She crossed her arms. "He never meant this family to be whole."

"I do, Alice."

"Then prove it!"

"How?"

"Let me stay here!"

Graff looked right into her eyes. The eyes are a window into a person's soul. Alice could see that he regretted what he was about to say- his eyes were melancholy, filled with sorry and regret. His face, however, remained as stoic as he could keep it. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Alice was practically yelling now.

His eyes were now solemn. "Because…" He paused. "Because…the IF needs you. No, the world needs you."

"Why?"

Graff hesitated, deciding whether or not to tell her the most dreadful truth. "I can't tell you that."

"Why can't you?"

"It's classified information."

"I don't give a damn about secrecy!"

_Well you should, _thought Graff. "It's time to go."

"Why should I go with you!"

"Because as of this moment, I have authority over you. You are an IF soldier and I am your superior officer!" Graff said, raising his voice just a little. _Actually, she's not, but she doesn't know that._

Alice had to give in then. Her vision blurred a little as Linda and Marty opened their arms. "Come here sweetie."

They knelt and the family shared a long embrace. Linda kissed Alice on the head. Marty held them all tightly.

"Be strong, Alice," said Linda. "Do us proud. We love you."

"Guard your heart, Alice," said Marty. "Do your best."

After a moment, Graff spoke. "Alice. It's time to go."

They separated reluctantly. Alice hugged her parents one last time before Graff led her out the door. She had enough trouble not crying without having to hear Linda breaking down behind her.

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NOTE: I'm sorry this was so short, guys! I think of it like this- the quicker I get this done, the quicker I can advance the story.


	15. The First of Many

NOTE: This one (pre-revisions) was longer. We're getting closer to being done with the overhaul. *fist air*

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At last, it was time for departure. Alice was loaded onto a shuttle- specifically the one that'd take them up to Command School. She walked up to the ladder to board, Graff right behind her.

"Hurry. You're the last one!" Graff said as Alice climbed a little too slowly for his tastes.

_Stuff it._ Alice had to restrain herself from saying that. Instead, she felt her feet climbing faster automatically.

She reached the top. When she saw who was there, Alice smiled broadly. "Guys! Hi!"

It was all the people Ender liked or trusted. Any idiot could see that this group wasn't randomly assembled- Petra, Bean, Carn Carby, Alai, Alice, Dink, Shen, Han Tzu, Fly Molo, Crazy Tom, Dumper, Vlad, Rox, Dina and Mome.

Without anyone really noticing, the Jeesh drifted into cliques. Fly Molo, Dumper, Vlad, Crazy Tom and Hot Soup were Ender's Dragon Army Toon Leaders; no one dared penetrate Alice, Dink, Mome, Rox, Petra, Carn and Dina's inner circle- they were the most senior; Shen and Alai were in Ender's launch.

Bean alone drifted from group to group. Aside from Crazy Tom, no one really made much of an effort to include him. Bean was grateful for Tom's effort, though he really preferred to be alone. At first, he didn't really mind the near-solitude. But as the voyage wore on, he began to resent it more and more. Just as he was about to crack, a voice came over the loud speaker: "Please strap yourselves in. We are about to dock at IF Command."

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The next few months were a blur. Most of what the Jeesh focused on were the old models, the ones that were used in the First and Second Invasions. No one thought it made much sense. One day, Bean had had enough.

In class, he asked the officer in charge of their training, "Why won't you show us the newer ships? The IF would want their most advanced models attacking the Buggers."

The pilot didn't like this. Bean was beginning to catch on to their secret. He began to sweat a little. "You need to understand and be able to operate all the models we currently have."

Alice looked on, aware that something was off. She crossed her arms, unaware on precisely _what_ was wrong. She stayed silent.

Within a week, they were advanced to their next stage of training- the Simulator. It was a video game- the best video game that any of them had ever played. They quickly realized that the Battle Room was to Battle School, so too was the Simulator to Command School. Day by day, the Jeesh trained harder than they ever had before. Their mastery over the controls was growing daily.

During one particularly memorable practice two months after they'd started training with the Simulator, Alice helped her team- Dink, Mome, Petra, Vlad, Crazy Tom, Hot Soup and Carn- out of a particularly sticky situation. Rox's team had her flanked on all sides, but early in the battle, Alice had ordered Dink to hide a few ships; they'd be Alice's reserve squad. Alice ordered her ships into a bizarre formation- it looked like a pencil. Her formation dogged determinedly, only losing a few ships. Eventually, the point of Alice's "pencil" fired and hit Rox's flagship.

Finally, it was time to begin working under a single commander.

As they logged onto their Simulators, the Jeesh heard a new noise in the background- a faint hiss. And then a voice they knew well. "But how can I work with Toon Leaders I can't see?"

Shen came on. "Someone say something!"

They heard light breathing. Ender could hear them. And then Alai whispered. "Salaam."

"Alai…"

And then everyone made their introductions. "And me, the dwarf." "And your friendly neighborhood monarch." "Me, the Russian." And so on and so forth.

Within the next few weeks, the Jeesh formed even tighter bonds. Ender staged more half-Jeesh battles and he came to know their abilities very well- Dink, who was slow to improvise, but carried out instructions beautifully; Bean, who couldn't handle large amounts of ships but could use a few effectively like a scalpel; Alice, who was very stealthy in her approaches (she was very good at getting behind the enemy fleet); Alai, who could be trusted with half the fleet and only vague instructions.

One day, there was a battle that was much easier than their previous exercises.

"Alai, what in the name of Christ's holy totem poles are you doing?" asked Mome incredulously.

He calmly replied. "Following orders." He pointed his head up, so that he'd be addressing Ender. "This is defying 4000 years of military history! We're supposed to attack where we outnumber them, not where they're most concentrated!"

Ender calmly replied. "Alai, fire at will and get out of the way. I'd like to do this without the loss of a single ship."

The Simulator responded magnificently. The enemy's ships began to explode: first one then fifteen, then fifty, until almost all of them were gone. "Bean, take are of any stragglers." Before the Jeesh disconnected from the Simulator, Ender came once more over the headset. "It's never going to be this easy again. Keep on your toes."

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NOTE: It's a relief to be able to focus on something creative, for a change! I just got out of the week from hell- three AP Art History tests, two Journalism deadlines, and my senior exhibition. Now I'm on Spring Break. It'll be weird having almost no homework. XD


	16. The Koning and Reine have Arrived

NOTE: I should be doing my art history work but I need a break. I've been working all day! *sigh* Anyway, this chapter marks the fifth to last chapter that needs revision on Ender's Ally! *applause* I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! (Then I can focus on continuing the stories.)

If I haven't before, I'd like to announce a new story coming your way sometime soon- it is based off of Avatar: the Last Airbender! If anyone wants more information, PM me and I'll tell you a little. And here we go!

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Battles came every few days. As Ender warned the Jeesh, they were never so easy again. The enemy had learned not to get caught in so tight a formation again. Whatever weapon Alai used in the first battle wasn't used again. Dink had attributed that to their "enemy" respecting their capabilities and, well, the strategists themselves.

Ender was apparently being taught by a Mazer. At every practice, Ender would go over their previous battles at every practice and show them, what Mazer had apparently shown him.

Then, there came a battle that nearly ended in disaster. Petra, as usual, occupied the core of Ender's strategy. She led her forces in too far. When Ender called to her, she didn't respond. Ender flipped control of her two remaining ships (out of an original count of roughly fifty or so) over to Crazy Tom and tried to salvage a victory. If the enemy hadn't been so eager to exploit their sudden advantage, the Jeesh would have lost.

Ender saw that the enemy was in a really tight formation. "Alice, fire at them with the Little Doctor." She did.

The battle was done. As the Jeesh logged out, they all heard Petra trying to get a microphone: "Please! Let me talk to Ender! I didn't mean to fall asleep! Tell him I'm sorry!"

As time passed, three more broke like Petra- Fly Molo, Crazy Tom and Vlad.

Living up to his nickname, Tom was the goof; Fly was just the opposite, a somber guy who took orders and didn't joke. Battle after battle, the Jeesh noticed a change in Fly and Tom- Fly became more like Tom and vice versa. Eventually, both were removed from a battle, and presumably taken to be evaluated by an on-site psychologist.

And Vlad? His was much more similar to Petra's breakdown. The only difference between the two? He didn't come back. Both Fly and Tom both did, however.

There was an unspoken assumption about the four of them- no more would they be given crucial assignments, assignments that _actually_ mattered to their main objective.

After a while, battles came every day. They became more and more intense. Alice was beginning to crack under the pressure. But every time she and Dink had a moment alone soothed her to no end; conversely, Alice's company helped him tremendously. Alice didn't think Dink really knew how much he helped her, and she didn't know how much she helped Dink.

Then there was one day when Dink was refusing to go to the battle at all. He was sitting on his bed, determined to get a day of rest.

"This whole thing so far has been one injustice after another for Ender! He needs friends! Why won't you let him have any?" He crossed his arms in protest against the officer who came in. The officer grabbed Dink's arm and tried to pull him to his feet. "Don't _touch_ me!" He yanked his arm from the officer's grasp. Dink stood up. "I, for one, am loyal to my commander!" He glared and crossed his arms. "Are _you_? He's gonna save us all from the Bugger threat someday!"

Alice had come in when Dink stood up. She came over and caught his eye. "Everyone else, leave. I'll get him to come out." And indeed, there were a fair few of the Jeesh there. It was a miniature crowd in the boys' barracks.

Once the others were gone and the door shut, Alice moved closer. They sat on his bed.

Alice grasped his hand. "You've helped me through these tough times. Whatever happened, I knew you were there to help. But now, it's time for me to help you. What's wrong?"

Dink reached out and held Alice tightly for a long moment. Eventually, they separated. Even only at age sixteen, Dink knew he loved Alice more than anything- he'd do whatever he could to protect her from low lives, creeps and criminals, he'd leap in front of a bullet for her; Dink wasn't sure when he began to feel this way. They'd started out as just friends in the Battle School. When had it evolved into something more? He did the only thing that made any sense to him at that moment- he told her everything. He told her about a bad feeling that had been growing in the pit of his stomach for weeks now; his growing frustrations about how they couldn't see Ender; and then to the more sensitive topic- how he felt about her.

"I'm not sure when I began to feel this way." Dink swallowed. "I really just don't know." He looked right into her eyes. "I love you, Alice!" He hugged her tightly against himself. "And I never want to lose you!"

She kissed his cheek softly. "I love you too, Dink," she whispered.

Alice had said the very thing that was causing Dink so much pain. Dink knew that he loved Alice more than life itself, but not if she felt the same way. Now he realized that the feeling was mutual. He knew that the girl he held in his arms at this moment would become the future Mrs. Dink Meeker.

Through all the time that they'd been together, Alice had never come right out with her feelings, which surprised Dink. Alice was a very candid person, much like himself. They never liked to keep secrets and they let you know when you were being stupid. All those fears were dispelled with those five words.

"My Koning," Alice whispered into his ear. She folded her arms behind his neck.

"You know the Dutch word for king?" He kissed her forehead.

"Learned it just for you." Alice smiled.

"My Reine," Dink whispered.

"You learned French?"

"Just the one word."

Dink leaned in and kissed her. All that mattered in life was right here before them.

"Come now, my Queen. Let's go win this fight."

As they left the room for the corridors, Alice boldly placed her arm around Dink's shoulder. Dink placed his arm around her waist, as if to prevent her from leaving.

They arrived at the simulator room, one of the other officers yelled at them. "To your stations! The battle has almost begun!"

The two glanced at each other. Alice gave Dink a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, my king."

They took their places at their controls.

"So you guys took a break to snog each other?" asked Dina.

Alice and Dink laughed along with the rest of them.

"Naw, but someone needs to keep Dutch Boy in line," replied Alice dryly.

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NOTE: The final battle, as some of you may have guessed is right around the corner. Let's go Jeesh~!


	17. Thank God for You

NOTE: Only a few more to go and my overhaul is complete! After Ender's Ally is done, I think I only have one more chapter to go-the first of Hero of the Olympians, if memory serves. Anyway. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me this long, thanks to all the reviewers and thanks to people who read but don't review. You all rock! I have so much more planned for the story. It's going to be great!

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Once back at their controls, they waited for only a minute before their test appeared on screen. Once it did, the whole Jeesh sat there, stunned. In every battle for weeks now, they were outnumbered, sometimes by two to one, sometimes by three to one. Now, however, it was at least one hundred and fifty to one, maybe more. The number kept fluctuating. Their simulators glowed green, the color for enemy ships. When they looked at the screen, there were at least fifty different formations going on at once. This battle was also staged around a planet. Alice wasn't sure which it was.

_Holy crap! Surely Mazer sees how lopsided this test is! _thought Alice.

After one painstakingly long minute, Bean's voice came on over the intercom. "Remember, the enemy's gate is down."

And Dumper, Fly Molo, Crazy Tom, and Hot Soup laughed. They were in Dragon Army with Ender. And the rest began to laugh along. The adults were taking this so seriously-they were _kids_-this was only a _game!_ And the kids were just playing along. It was funny!

Another minute later, Ender's voice came over the intercom. Apparently, Bean's utterance was enough to give Ender an idea of how to try and win this seemingly hopeless battle.

The formation was a bizarre one. Ender had most of the Jeesh, minus two squadrons, form a tight cylinder. The two squadrons not assigned to the formation itself were Bean's and Petra's. They were to take care of stray enemy ships and stay out of the way.

Ignoring their losses, the cylinder pushed into the line of fire behind enemy lines. They were surrounded, but each move, dodge, roll and feint took them closer to the planet. By now, Bean's and Petra's squadrons were ordered to fill in the gaps of the Jeesh formation.

There were almost no Jeesh ships left; the ships that remained were beginning to enter the planet's atmosphere; these weren't ships that were equipped to do it. Only three ships were left- one each from Bean, Mome and Alice's squadrons.

Ender came on the mic again. "Alice, Bean, Mome- fire the Little Doctor at the last possible second; aim it at the planet."

None of them had any way of knowing whose ship's Little Doctor that did it, but all that mattered was that this impossible battle was won: the final exam of Command School.

The simulator responded just as beautifully as when Alai had used the Little Doctor for the first time. The surface of the planet began to bubble; the energy of the explosion was incredible. It swallowed every ship in the vicinity, not distinguishing between Jeesh or enemy ships. All ships, specs of light on the simulator, were gone, now extinguished.

All Alice heard was the cheering of her Jeesh-mates. She took off her headset, but realized that there was just as much noise in the room with her.

Men in uniform were kneeling and praying. Some were still clasping their hands, tears running down their faces. Others were laughing and cheering in their jubilation. Colonel Graff came over, tears running freely over his face. He knelt in front of them and said, "Thank God for you! I can't believe you won!" His comment was met, instead of the euphoria he expected, with confusion.

Dink came up beside Alice. "What are you talking about?"

The Jeesh were then told what they had done. They'd won the Third Invasion. All this time, they wished to grow up so they could fight in the war. The Jeesh all dealt with it in different ways-some joined in the celebration, some took it in stunned silence. For Alice, the knowledge weighed heavily on her heart.

She began to cry, shocking everyone. Alice rarely cried, if ever. Dink led her to her room. They sat on her bed and he held her as she cried it all out. "Shh… It's going to be all right, Alice."

Her face still buried in Dink's chest, Alice asked him, "And it doesn't bother you?"

"Not really. Alice, I think they were going to come after humanity again. I know I said that the Bugger threat wasn't real in Battle School, but while I was at home, my parents convinced me otherwise."

"Your parents?"

"My parents."

"Did you tell them?" Alice hiccupped.

"About us? Yes."

"What did they say?"

"They didn't. Well, my mom approves. I told them all about you."

"And your dad?"

"I don't care what he says."

This comment told Alice all she needed to know. "So he doesn't approve?"

"Like I said-I don't care what he says." Dink pulled her face up. "Graff is probably going to get us pretty big pensions. I can just fly out to you. It's not like he can stop me. By the time we get back, we'll be eighteen."

It was true. The Jeesh had spent about a year in Command School. In fact, Alice's birthday had passed a few weeks ago. "True."

"But what he said doesn't matter now. What's in the past is in the past. It can't be undone, so why worry about it?" Dink smiled warmly. "And who says I approve of his opinion?"

Alice wiped her tears on the sleeve of her uniform. "I didn't quite catch that."

Dink chuckled. "Let me say it again." He leaned in for a kiss. Alice's eyes were still wet and tears clung to her eyelashes.

"Shall we go and celebrate?" Dink asked.

"I'm feeling like I want to stay here," Alice giggled, and hiccupped at the same time. "How 'bout a victory prize?"

"Do I get to choose it?"

"Like I'm gonna let you choose it yourself!" Alice smiled. "Besides, I'm sure you'll love it."

Dink gave her a half amused, half annoyed grin. He was about to say something cheeky, but he couldn't. Alice leaned up and kissed him. They didn't know how long they were there, but they enjoyed each other's company for as long as they could. They were the champions of humans, heroes of the human race. And they were only seventeen.

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NOTE: Had to age them by a year. The coming chapters might tell you why. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	18. Hyrum Graff

NOTE: I think I'm a little overeager for this overhaul to be over. XD I really want to post the next chapter, which is finished, but I want to finish the entire overhaul before I do. *slaps self on wrist* The (real) newest chapter of this story is… a little dramatic. And it starts getting into the international elements of the Shadow sub-series a little more. Can't wait to post that.

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During the days of the League War, the Jeesh were spent the time huddled in darkness together. They still weren't allowed to see him, but Graff promised that they could as soon as the shooting died. Graff stayed with them, and apparently, there were a few armed guards posted right outside the door. Right after the Jeesh was ushered into the room, Graff had explained that he was here to keep an eye on them and so that he could answer any questions that they may have. Mostly, they talked about their home lives. Since the old Battle School taboo was gone, it could be talked about freely.

"Ender's a Third; did you know that?" asked Graff.

Most of the Jeesh shook their heads, except for Bean. "He had an older sister and brother. He'd only been born legally because they didn't work out right for Battle School."

Graff turned to him. "How did you know that?"

Bean stayed silent.

After the Wiggin family story, everyone could tell of their families at home, who by now were distant memories. Probably their parents missed their children and were angry at the International Fleet for taking them because they were only bit players in the lives of their kids. The old Battle School taboo against telling others about their homes was gone.

Bean told the Jeesh stories about the hellish environment of the streets of Rotterdam that made _Lord of the Flies_ look like _Pollyanna_. When he got to the part about finding Poke's corpse in the Rhine, all the girls wept, and even one of the boys did: Shen, thought it was less prominent than Petra, Dina, Rox, Mome and Alice's tears. "I found her, bobbing in the water, just below the dock. Her eye was stabbed out. The next day, Achilles pretended to avenge her death, but I knew. I was the only one that knew the truth: he killed Poke."

They were finally being allowed to go out of their rooms, but none of them left. Alice was the only Jewish person in the Jeesh, so she explained about holidays: what her family did, what she wondered about, what she saw.

"For Hannukah, we would all get together at my Bubbe's and Zadde's house in La Jolla. The whole family would be there: Uncle Marty, Uncle Steven, Aunt Jen, Austin, Carson, Jaxon, Uncle Eric, Aunt Joanna, Tillie, my parents, Lex and me, plus Bubbe and Zadde. Bubbe would make her famous latkes, and every year, she would burn them just a little bit. We'd play Dreidel, talk, I would play with my cousins, and then we'd open presents. I'd always get books because I was so smart.

"On Yom Kippur, I always saw people I recognized at the service, which was about six hours long, and I saw people I didn't recognize. I heard the Shofar, which is a hallowed out ram's horn. My Rabbi could blow and hold the note for about one minute. His face was red afterword. My parents made me go to the children's service, but when I was five, I told them that I wanted to go to the adult service. That was the last Yom Kippur service I ever went to. They didn't think I would stay quiet, but I did."

Others told their stories of home. Rox had actually known the Wiggins. "I didn't think Ender would be who he is. I thought he was just another kid." She told of how she loved Peter more than he knew; but then again, her family had always been close to the Wiggins.

Champi T'it'u (Dumper) told of his life with the Quechua natives of Latin America. Alai told of his home in Morocco. Han Tzu told of his life as the son of factory workers near the South China Sea. Other people told other stories, but eventually, they all had to go home.

The shuttles left to take the different members of the Jeesh home. They all left in a few groups, based on geographic location. Those in North America, South America and Europe would be together, and the rest would be in a different shuttle.

Ender was, of course, not sent home with either group. All nations on Earth would be trying to win his allegiance; as the greatest military mind ever, they would be trying to place him at the head of their armed forces. America, as his birth nation, would claim him first, then start to flex its muscles again.

The group that Alice was in would be landing at the sizable space port in Roswell, New Mexico. The government had long since revealed what they were doing in Area 51. People were disturbed by what they were doing. It resulted in mutiny again the US government.

In the year 2060, fifty years before the Third Invasion, Willie Jones was sitting at the bar of the local diner, and he was talking to a pretty, but short, red headed waitress by the name of Clarice Hunt.

"I don't know about it, Willie," said Clarice. "I don't think it's possible."

"But it's got to be true!" said Willie as he banged his rather large and hairy fist onto the bar. "Why else would I keep hearing those funny rumbling noises late at night?"

"You have to calm down! Maybe you're just hearing things!"

"But how else can it be explained? How can you not believe it? It's a conspiracy! The government is hiding UFOs!"

"Look, Willie," Clarice began, placing a hand on his shoulder, "we're engaged to be married, and I'm pregnant! You can't end up in prison! Think about our baby! Think about us!"

Willie shoved her hand away. "If that's what it comes to, then so be it. If this is goodbye forever, then good bye, my love." As a final farewell, he stood up and leaned over the bar and kissed her briefly upon her lips. "Goodbye, Clarice."

Willie exited the diner leaving behind a sobbing Clarice. Little did he know how true those words actually were. He already had his plan and supplied ready. He was a soon to be retired Lieutenant General. Those three stars on his uniform would be respected. He had been stationed in Roswell for over twenty years.

Tonight would be perfect; his retirement wasn't announced yet. Even his lofty rank couldn't penetrate the secrets being researched in Area 51. Willie had packed for this venture into the unknown, inside a standard sized brief case, two different cameras (one regular and one night vision) night vision goggles (though he doubted that he needed them), a little .22 pistol and a mini lock picking kit (traditional, not electric).

He got past every soldier easily. Now he was underground at the door of the Research Department. Quickly opening the door, he stepped inside and re-locked it from the inside. A spotlight lit up and Willie gasped; he couldn't help it.

All around him were signs all bearing the words "Buggers" and "Humans". There were human sized test tubes, filled with thick green jell. Inside the jell were the citizens of Roswell that had disappeared. In others were life-like models of Bugger anatomy. Area 51 was a Bugger/Human testing facility!

The rest was history. Willie snapped a lot of shots of the room and casually fled the place. When he got home, he posted the pictures on the nets. Many people flocked to Roswell to see if the accusations against the place were true. Facing a full scale riot nation wide, the government confessed the truth.

In the end, Willie got sent to prison, and Clarice ended up marrying Hyrum Graff Sr. who turned out to be Colonel Graff's step father.

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NOTE: Wow, that was quick. I still really like the closing scene with the bit about Graff.


	19. Homecoming

NOTE: This is me forcing you to recall that I aged the characters by one year. Just sayin'. Anyway, my Art History AP test is next week (Tuesday), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good grade! *anticipation* We're almost done with the overhaul! After this one, only two more to do for Ender's Ally and then I have to do the first chapter of Hero of the Olympians. After that, it's back to the new stuff. I've got some really good stuff planned for all of my stories. Enjoy!

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"Finally!" Alice came out of the shuttle and stretched her arms over her head.

They were back in the last place any of them had ever expected to be- the old Battle School station. They were there to pick up the last few students left, students in unknown armies. They were unknown to all but Colonel Graff, the sly bastard.

"Now that we're here," said Alice curtly to Graff, "why don't you tell us who's left." It wasn't a question.

Graff crossed his arms. "The former soldiers of Hawk and Platypus."

Without another word, Alice sprinted off to the Hawk commander's barracks, where she thought Lex would be. Alice arrived at the door. She took a minute to catch her breath-have _you_ ever run this far out in the station from the dock- and knocked.

Alice heard something (she didn't know what) slam, some pounding steps and the door whooshed open.

"What is it no-" Lex began, only to stop suddenly in order to gape.

"A whaba wha?" teased Alice. It was an old joke between them.

Lex stood there for a long moment in a daze. She overcame her astonishment and hugged Alice tightly. "It _is_ you!"

Alice hugged her back. "I missed you too!"

They went into Lex's quarters, which formerly belonged to Alice and talked for a while about what had happened while they were apart.

"We protested the scoring system!"

"The Little Doctor was amazing!"

It went on like that for a while, and then they went back to the Hawk barracks. On the way Lex asked Alice a question. "Why are you here? Wait! Don't answer. They're sending us all home."

"That's right," said Alice brusquely. "Very soon, as a matter of fact."

They had reached the barracks. Lex went in; Alice stayed in the hall. As Lex began to talk, Alice thought to herself, _She really has garnered the respect I used to have. I guess I did leave my army in good hands._

Lex turned around and motioned for Alice to come in. There was a collective cheer.

"HAWK," Alice exclaimed, beginning the old ritual.

"ARMY!" bellowed the whole of Hawk.

At once, Alice was surrounded by her old subordinates. They were all shouting things.

"PRINCE!"

"We missed you!"

"You a hero, neh?"

"You bad, sabe?"

"You blast some buggers for me?"

"You killed them all dead?"

"You must have fired a big weapon, boss!"

"Can't destroy an entire race without eating a healthy breakfast!"

The person who yelled that last line was Felix Rotsch, who had always had a kind of crush on her; it was actually kind of cute, yet pathetic at the same time. Baron had tried to sabotage Dink's and Alice's romance when they were still on the station. All the attention was on Felix.

Graff came in. "We will be departing for Earth within the next few minutes." He walked out. All military time telling was apparently over and done with as Graff walked out of an eerily silent, usually loud room.

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NOTE: Lord, I'm so glad we're almost done!


	20. To Be Estranged

NOTE: This chapter was sad to write. Seriously. But I don't think it was sadder than having to read the pre-revised version…XD Hope you enjoy!

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When the Jeesh disembarked at Roswell Spaceport, they were assaulted by light- both natural and from cameras. The paparazzi clicked away at their cameras. The reporters were global- Alice could recognize several countries' press. Shouts were aimed at the soldiers who wore different uniforms from the rest: the members of the famous Jeesh. The kids had a military escort that made the press go away. The escort was wearing the only military uniform that mattered: the sky blue of the International Fleet.

Once the paparazzi left, the runway was completely mobbed by parents of the returning kids. Families were reunited, some for the first time in six years, others for longer.

Alice and Dink wandered through the crowd. They saw tearful goodbyes from several people- Lex and Wabe; Mome and Rose; Dina and Carn. All of the sudden, Alice stopped in her tracks, still grasping Dink's hand. Their parents were approaching- Linda and Marty, and Dink's parents, Hugo and Payton. Payton, Linda and Marty were grinning, but Hugo looked menacing, his face set in a scowl, his imposing frame.

Dink held Alice tightly against him, even as their parents approached. They didn't see, but all four of them stopped in their tracks to watch what was happening between their children. But they weren't children anymore. They were adults, just barely, but adults all the same.

Alice, in spite of herself, began to cry silent tears. She whispered, "Don't forget, Dink. Oh G-d, please don't forget!"

Dink kissed the top of Alice's head. "I swear I won't." Against his own instincts, Dink felt himself begin to cry a little. "I swear on top of Boneheads grave," said Dink, kissing the top of Alice's head again. "I won't forget. I swear on my family's honor. I swe-"

Hugo Meeker apparently had seen enough. He stalked over to the two and yanked Dink away by the shoulder. They had a quick, angry discussion. "What are you doing?"

"Saying goodbye," said Dink.

"Well, say it faster! We have a plane to catch!"

Dink turned to Alice and kissed her, trying to convey all of his confused emotions into the simple touch- anger, love, regret. "I'm sorry." He turned away. Alice saw his face, glistening with tears.

Alice wanted to do so many things as her parents led her away. She wanted to cry. She wanted to run back to Dink and never let him go. She wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out. All Alice did in reality, however, was allow herself to be guided away by her parents. Sometime after that scene, Linda and Marty had found Lex, who was also in tears.

They got into the car, Linda and Marty in front, Lex and Alice in back. After a while, Linda turned around from the passenger seat. "Alice?" Which got no response. "You really love that boy, don't you?"

Alice turned to face her mom. "Of course I do! You saw it, didn't you?"

"I did. Just remember, Alice, we'll always love you," said Linda.

That got no response. Alice turned her head to look out the window and watch the dramatic desert scenery of New Mexico fly by.

The family had left Roswell at about 2pm. When the stopped again, it was 10pm and they were in Clifton, Arizona. They would have been there sooner, but when the Prince family stopped in Columbus, New Mexico for lunch, Lex and Alice were hounded by yet more paparazzi.

At their hotel in Clifton, Marty went to check in alone, leaving Alice, Lex and Linda alone in the car for several tense minutes.

Marty climbed back into the car. "We're in the second floor: Room 213, near the ice machine."

Alice and Lex had no luggage, but Linda and Marty thought of that. Linda had packed some of her clothes for Lex and Alice, which they politely refused.

"I don't want to forget, Mom."

"Forget what?"

"Who and what I really am. This suit defines me and Lex, Mom. It has for a long, long time."

_Is this really my daughter?_ Linda found herself thinking.

The next morning, Alice and Lex insisted on eating breakfast at the hotel. The family went downstairs in the elevator. They were accompanied by another family that consisted of a mother, a father and their two young children.

The younger one, who couldn't have been more than four or five tugged on his father's sleeve. "Daddy, are they famous?"

The father glanced over at Lex and Alice, noticing their uniforms. He whispered back to his son. "Yes they are, son. Don't be rude."

The elevator stopped on the first floor. As the Prince's went over to the breakfast area, people stared at Lex and Alice, at first confused. They were probably thinking to themselves things like "What are those girls wearing?" or "If they were MY child, I'd have them put on some normal clothes." Once they focused in on the insignia on the side, they must have realized who these girls were from the vids the day before. News really spread quickly.

People showed the two girls and their parents respect. People might have stared, but it was all they could do. It would be too weird to just run up to them and shake their hand. They soon realized, however, that Alice and Lex were friendly and approachable. No one actually asked for their autograph, but Alice and Lex knew that inside, the hotel patrons were dying to ask.

They finished eating breakfast quickly and went back up to the room. Linda and Marty packed as quickly as they could and loaded the car. Marty told them to stay in the car, so he could go check out.

He climbed back in. "You guys might want to sleep a little. We have a long drive ahead of us."

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NOTE: Done with another chapter! We're almost finished!


	21. A Lesson in Stupidity

NOTE: I hope I'll be able to get more chapters out during the year. This summer was way too slow for me, in terms of me putting out chapters. I hope you like it~

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The first thing Alice did when she got up was realize that she and Lex didn't fit in with their family's routine. As they sat down to breakfast one morning, Lex, Alice and Linda all tried to speak at once.

"You first Mom," said Alice. Lex nodded.

Linda breathed in. "We're going to have a new baby!"

"Really?" Lex asked, her mouth gaping.

"That's great!" Alice exclaimed.

"Babies, actually. I'm having twins!" said Linda.

At this, Marty said, "Twins? I thought it was only one!" A huge grin began to spread on his face.

"I went to the doctor the day before we went to Roswell."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There wasn't time, dear," she said, laughing. "Let's hear what Alice and Lex have to say."

Marty nodded. "What is it?"

"We'd like to enroll in school," said Alice.

"The point is, we don't fit in with your routine," Lex said.

"Plus, we're socially inept," said Alice. "We need a social education and what better place to get it than a high school?"

They all agreed it was best.

"I'll take them down the local high school today, if you want," said Linda.

"Sounds good," Marty said.

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The three of them sat in Principal Angela Sadler's office.

"We'd be delighted to enroll your girls here," said Angela. "But wouldn't the courses here be too easy for them?"

"They might be," said Linda. "But they were pretty firm about enrolling. There's a branch of their education that they feel they could learn here."

"Well, I doubt it would be a social one," said Angela.

"Actually, Ma'am, it is," Lex told her. "We have yet to join our generation."

"Ok, I'll get the forms." She took them out of a drawer in her desk and gave them to Linda to fill out. "Get these in as soon as possible please. The school year starts on the seventh."

"Please excuse us," Linda said. They sat in the counseling office filling out those forms, and then they went back in.

"Isn't Lex a little young to be a senior?" asked Angela.

"Yes, but the IF said they both could probably go right on to college, but they wanted to go here first," said Linda.

While Linda and Angela were talking, Lex leaned over to talk with Alice. "Let's sign up for the same classes!"

"Sure."

After all the formalities were taken care of, they were told they needed to be ready to go in one week. When they left, Linda had thought up a list of what they'd need for school and decided that they'd go and get it that day.

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When they started school, there may have been no language barrier, but there certainly was a social one. As expected, the popular girls took immediate possession of them, showing Alice and Lex everything there was to see at the school. Teachers treated them both as celebrities. In two weeks, the popular girls finally cooled towards them and people finally stopped staring. It was with the brainy kids that they found their home.

Melany, Wyatt, Jazmin, Callie, James and Aaron were their "Jeesh", Battle School slang for close friends, a private army. They all just fit together, like Alice and Lex were missing pieces of a puzzle. Every morning, they all gathered in Mrs. Fikes' room; it made perfect sense really, because Callie was Mrs. Fikes' daughter.

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It was a Friday, three months after Alice and Lex returned from the asteroid. As had become customary, their Jeesh met at the mall after school. They went home. The group split, Jazmin, Alice and Lex on one bus. Melany, Wyatt, James and Aaron went on another. Jazmin, Lex and Alice arrived at their stop and got off. They began the short walk back to their houses, which were next door to each other.

Alice and Lex walked up to the front door and they unlocked it. They rounded a corner to the stairwell; someone slapped a hypostick into Lex's arm and she dropped like a sac of potatoes. At once, Alice was ready to fight. As if on cue, four men emerged from various hiding places around the room. _Crap._ Alice cursed herself for letting her guard down.

No one moved. Finally, one of the thugs opened a door behind her. Alice glanced over and saw, to her terror, her parents. They were tied to chairs, with duct tape over their mouths.

"Let them go!" demanded Alice.

"And just why should we?"

Alice snapped her body around. Standing there was Achilles.

"Who are you?"

"Oh you'll be finding that out soon enough," he said gloatingly. "As for _them,_" he said, gesturing to Linda and Marty, "I'll let them go if you and your sister 'come quietly'."

Alice glanced at her terrified parents, at Lex lying there on the floor. Linda and Marty shook their heads frantically. Alice knew what she had to do. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Take me and Lex as long as my parents stay safe."

"Then we have a deal." Achilles snapped his fingers. Alice's last fleeting glance at the room before she blacked out was Linda and Marty being untied.

Suddenly, everything went black.

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When Alice woke up, she was lying in a small room that had no decoration whatsoever. There was an iv taped in her arm. She tried to rip it out, but she was too weak. Alice felt light headed, so she decided to sleep some more.

A few hours later, she woke up again and her mind was somewhat clearer. She sat up, groaned and placed a hand on her head. Alice finally noticed that the iv wasn't in her arm anymore. She stood up and tried to open the door. It was locked. She sighed and sat back down. _What to do now? Maybe I can do some moves from that personal defense class I took._

The minute she tried anything, Alice fell over. Apparently, she still wasn't strong enough to do that. The floor rushed up to meet her.

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When Alice woke up once more, her head was still swimming. _What's happening? _She thought.

That was when she noticed that she was in a different room. This one was slightly bigger and it had a window. She glanced out of it, only to see a meadow and blue skies. Alice turned her head towards the door. Her vision was slightly blurred, so she didn't see who it was until he was closer. It was Dink.

"What's going on?"

He looked down at her lovingly and kissed her forehead. "They've got everyone; the whole gang from Eros, and even your sister. The only two who aren't here are Ender and Bean."

"Where are we?" Alice tried to sit up, with some success.

"Somewhere in Russia."

"I figured, but where in Russia?"

"They just told us far from any borders."

"What are our resources?"

"Thick walls, no tools, constant observation. They even weigh our bodily wastes; I'm not kidding."

Alice nodded. "So what are the rest of them doing?"

"They've got us all in kuso classes; it's like a really dumbed down Battle School. All of us were sick of it," Dink said.

"Why the past tense?"

Dink laughed. To Alice, Dink talking was the best sound in the world. "A couple of days ago, they were quoting one of Von Clausewitz's stupider generations and Fly gave up. He continued the quotation sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph and the rest of us joined in as best we could, but no one has a memory like Fly."

Alice nodded.

"Anyway, they finally got the idea that we could teach the kuso classes to them. So now, it's just…war games."

"Again? You think they'll tell us the games are real?"

"No, this is just planning. Strategy for war between Russia and Turkmenistan. War with the old NATO alliance except Germany. War with Germany. War with the US and Canada. Even the really weird stuff, like between Brazil and Peru, which makes no sense."

"Maybe they were testing how compliant you all are."

"Maybe," said Dink thoughtfully. "This all happened in three weeks."

"Who's there?"

"What? I already told you."

"No, I mean if everyone was in solitary, who else is out?"

"So that's what you mean. Everyone's out except for you and Petra. Except now, you're out because they sent me to get you for class."

"Then let's go." With difficulty, Alice stood up. Her knees buckled, but Dink caught her before she fell to the ground. Alice put her arms around his shoulders to balance herself. Dink certainly didn't mind. Before they left the room, they kissed each other.

As they walked along the hall towards the class room, Alice whispered to Dink. "I missed you so much."

Dink gazed at her. "You already know my answer." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's go. The others will want to see you too."

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When Dink opened the door, everyone in the room looked over to the door. Everyone rushed over. Before they could say a thing, their "teacher" walked in and stood at the front of the room. "Today, you'll all be planning a strategy for Bolivia against Paraguay. I'll have someone else draw up the plans for Paraguay. Now, get to work."

And so the days went on and on, until something broke the monotony: an unknown party rescued them. They roused her in darkness. Someone shook her shoulder roughly, but not unkindly. "Get up." Alice could hear the sound of footsteps outside her door. They were heavy ones. Boots. Soldiers? Maybe.

No one was laying a hand on her- she dressed in darkness. _If they got me up so early, there must be something urgent happening. This isn't an interrogation or torture. They'd want me to be as unbalanced as possible. What if I asked a question? Would I seem weak? But not asking questions is passive. _"Where are we going?"

No answer. That was a bad sign. Or was it? Alice had seen a few spy movies in her life time. She actually had enjoyed the James Bond series, as horribly inaccurate as it was. Not much of it was believable to her, but here she was- in a real spy movie situation and Alice knew nothing of what to expect except for those stupid fictional vids and movies. What happened to the abilities that got her to Battle School in the first place? Apparently, those only worked in theory. When things happen for real, your fear takes over and you fall back onto these lame stories written by people who have no idea how things like this really worked.

They walked her outside to a convoy, of sorts. Two limos and an armored truck were sitting there. Two girls about her size and hair color walked into the limos and the real Alice was kept in the shade. When the limos were gone, Alice was walked into the armored truck.

Two men in civilian clothes were there. They didn't speak, so Alice decided to ask the question. "Where are we going?"

The smaller man spoke up. "You're going home, Alice."

"To God or the US?"

"The situation is still flexible."

"So that means, if I'm going home to a place I've never been," Alice said, "that you're trying to return me to the US under just the right circumstances, so you can save Mother Russia a lot of embarrassment."

The little man began to say something in his defense, but Alice was just getting started.

"You say you're not guilty, but I fully expect to be retaken by Achilles and his…oh what word to use? Agents, allies, associates, network, sponsors, take your pick. But let me also point out that being kidnapped a second time is not the same as being set free."

"You're not being kidnapped again; you're being put into protective custody."

Alice sighed. "You're missing the point. I'm a certified tactical and strategic genius. So why are _you_ in charge of me?"

He had no answer.

"Because you're just trying to absolve Mother Russia of all guilt. So in effect, you don't give a rat's fart about what happens to me."

"We aren't guilty. Only the faction of the Russian government that kidnapped you and the other children."

"You regard saving me as less important."

"Than what?"

She gasped in exasperation. "I've said it a few times! Don't you people ever listen? Apparently not." She turned to the other man. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

He didn't.

"So earlier, you said that you're a genius," said the little man, red in the face.

Alice glared at him. "So I guess you finally caught on?"

He sighed. "So. You see some flaw in our plan?"

Alice was stunned at his stupidity. "It's obvious!"

"Then what is it?"

"Do I even have to explain it?"

He didn't answer, so Alice proceeded to explain.

"Too many people know about it- the decoys, the drivers." She gestured at the door. "Have you even checked to see if it's still the same driver?" She had finally made him uneasy. They rode in silence for a while, then he got up and opened the door to the cab.

BANG. Alice couldn't hear. The bigger man got up and he was shot before he could draw his gun. Alice couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears. A soldier opened the door the rest of the way. He said something, but Alice couldn't hear him; the ringing was still too loud.

"I can't hear you," Alice said.

He shook his head and mouthed the words. She caught the last part. "…Rox Meyers."

"Now that I can hear, tell me again," said Alice.

"Ok." The man cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Grant McCray. I'm from a spec ops team in the US army. Our unit was assigned to rescue the American members of Ender Wiggin's team- you, your sister and Rox Meyers."

She nodded. "So what's the situation?"

"We're still awaiting confirmation on Rox Meyers' rescue." Lieutenant McCray got a call on his radio. Alice heard the message- "Rox safe, awaiting a stream for rendezvous. Over and out." He put the radio away. "Assuming you heard that, she is safe, at the rendezvous point." He looked into the cab. "Pull over," he said to the driver. The driver pulled over. "Get out."

Alice looked at him questioningly. He gave her a look, then got into the driver's seat. A few seconds later, the back door opened and Alice got one look at her attacker before he shot her.

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NOTE: MUAHAHA! I love writing cliffies. I'm evil, aren't I? XD I kinda strayed from the topic a bit, haven't I? From talking about a school, I go to the captivity and release. What'll happen next? Even I don't know. lol


	22. Fooling the Hyde

NOTE: I think this is the least amount of time that it took for me to get another chapter of the same story up. XD Thanks for the motivation, Alice J. Wiggin! You rock! This chapter is dedicated to you~ (On a side note, I took the quiz on facebook and the character I'm most like is Dink. XD)

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Lieutenant McCray jumped out of his seat holding a little pistol. He shot it at the assailant; the bullet hit right between his eyes and his body dropped like a sac of potatoes. The pistol was placed back into Lieutenant McCray's holster. He looked at Alice. Her face was a mess of blood; it had begun to pool. She was pale and looked like she'd be dead soon.

Lieutenant McCray grabbed the bench opposite the one Alice was sitting on. He lifted it and began to rummage for bandages. "Got it!" He turned quickly to Alice, whose breathing was very shallow. He wrapped the bandages tightly over the wound to the hairline. It didn't look too deep, but Lieutenant McCray couldn't be sure. "Come on Alice, look at me. Look into my eyes."

"Lieutenant…"

"That's it Alice, I don't want to lose you. Keep looking at me." He took out his radio. "Send medics right away! Soldier down; I repeat, soldier down!"

There was silence for a moment. "McCray, medics are now heading to your position. Keep the injury elevated and keep lots of pressure on it. Over and out."

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Alice's head was swimming. It was also pounding mercilessly. Her vision was foggy. She groaned.

A kind but worried female voice spoke. "Are you awake?"

Alice blinked and it sort of cleared up her vision. "I think so." She opened her eyes all the way. They were focused once again. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," said Lex.

"Where?"

"Still in Russia. We're in Moscow."

"Why Moscow?"

"Lieutenant McCray didn't want to fly with you in critical condition. You were out for a while," said Lex.

"How long?"

"A day and a half," said Lieutenant McCray.

"Where's Rox?" asked Alice.

"We already sent her home," said Lieutenant McCray. "Yours was the only rescue op was the only one interfered with."

"They tried to make me leave, but I wouldn't go without you," said Lex.

Alice managed a weak smile. "You've always been stubborn, ever since you were little."

Lex giggled. "Before Achilles took us, Mom was telling me all about it."

"So, Lieutenant, when can I leave?" Alice asked.

The doctor walked in. "You can travel, as long as you're careful."

"By plane?"

The doctor nodded. "But I have to have a licensed doctor or nurse with you."

"I have a licensed doctor in my unit," said Lieutenant McCray. "I can have him here in a half hour."

The doctor nodded. "Does he carry credentials?"

"I can vouch for him. So can my commander," said Lieutenant McCray.

"That won't be necessary," said the doctor. "I was just on my way to release her," he said, gesturing to Alice. "You are cleared to leave."

Lieutenant McCray stood up and walked over to the doctor. "Thank you," he said, shaking the doctor's hand. He made a quick call on his radio, and in no time, they were in a chopper headed for the airport so they could fly home in the military plane that Lieutenant McCray's commander had sent over to pick them up.

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Air travel was much more enjoyable than space travel. It was much less tedious, for one thing. And for another, Alice could look at some scenery: lakes, oceans, the Alps; it was absolutely brilliant. They had to stop and refuel in England, and from there, it was a straight shot to San Diego's Miramar Air Base. During the flights, Alice slept a lot, as she was till recovering. The doctor in Lieutenant McCray's unit changed her bandage as they flew over Las Vegas. As beautiful as air travel was, it was still eventless. Alice found that she wished for something to happen; maybe for the plane to get shot down. Oh wait, that was the medicine talking.

They were a few minutes away from landing when the plane lurched forward. Alice had been asleep again, and she fell out of her chair. Lieutenant McCray, though off balance, was able to make it to the cockpit. He cursed. The pilots were either dead or unconscious.

He pushed the pilot's body out of the seat and took the control. They were in a nose dive, headed straight for a grisly crash on the runway. One of his soldiers came in. "Pull back on the steering, sir!"

Lieutenant McCray did. Their flight leveled out and they were approaching the runway, but not in a way that they'd crash. The soldier came forward, and punched a button. Out came the landing gear.

"Now push forward slightly, sir."

He did and they touched down. The soldier pulled out the emergency brake and they slowed to a stop. Lieutenant McCray looked at him. "How did you know what to do, Bell?"

He smiled. "Well, sir, I read technical manuals and my father is a pilot. I've never actually had to use what I've learned until now."

"Then why aren't you in the Air Force?"

"Because I didn't want to be. I know what I know and I know what I love."

Lieutenant McCray nodded, and saluted Private Bell. "Dismissed."

Bell saluted back. "Thank you, sir." He left and Lieutenant McCray followed. "Is everyone all right?" he asked.

Everyone told him that, yes, they were all right.

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Linda and Marty were there waiting for Alice and Lex. Lieutenant McCray walked with Alice and Lex to them. Both of their faces were lined with worry and Linda's pregnancy was beginning to show. Linda saw Alice's bandage right away. "What happened to you?"

"I don't want to scare you," said Alice.

The Princes started to walk. After a while, they noticed that Lieutenant McCray was still with them. "Mr. and Mrs. Prince."

The family stopped and turned.

"My commander ordered me to take you straight to her as soon as your daughters returned," said Lieutenant McCray. "She told me that…" He paused. "I'll tell you on the way."

He led the four of them to another armored vehicle, but this time, the driver was standing by his door. As Lieutenant McCray and the Princes approached, the man saluted Lieutenant McCray. "Sirs! Ma'ams!" Apparently, he saluted them all.

"This is Second Lieutenant Michael Hyde, my second in command," said Lieutenant McCray. "At ease." Lieutenant Hyde's arm relaxed. "We made sure there was no room for error this time."

Alice and Lex nodded.

"Lieutenant McCray, what do you mean 'no room for error'?" asked Linda.

"Do you really want to know, Mom? Dad?" Alice glanced at her parents.

They shared and Linda said, "We do."

"We'll explain in the car," said Lex.

"Lieutenant Hyde, if you will," said Lieutenant McCray.

Lieutenant Hyde opened the driver's door and sat down. Lieutenant McCray opened the back door, jumped up and helped the Princes in. Once the door was tightly shut and locked, Lieutenant McCray hit the wall that connected the back to the cab. They could hear the engine roar to life. The armored vehicle started to move. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Is someone going to explain now?" asked Linda.

"After Lieutenant McCray rescued me, he made the driver pull over and get out. He did. The guy went around back and opened the door and shot me," said Alice.

"I shot him back, and bandaged her wound as best as I could and waited for the medics to get there. She almost didn't make it," Lieutenant McCray said. "We stayed at a hospital in Moscow and came here."

"Oh, Honey! Are you ok?" Linda and Marty hugged Alice tightly. The moment passed and everyone sat up again.

"So what's going on, Lieutenant McCray?" Marty asked.

"You're going to meet my commanding officer," he said. "General Levin, who'll explain when we get there."

Linda crossed her arms, clearly unsatisfied. No one spoke until the armored vehicle stopped. Lieutenant Hyde radioed in from the cab. "We're here sir. Wait for a minute." They did. Lieutenant Hyde radioed in again. "I'm coming to unlock the door, sir." It opened and natural light spilled in. Outside was Lieutenant Hyde, along with fifteen of Lieutenant McCray's unit, their rifles in hand. They walked along the road to the Administration building.

Once inside, five of the soldiers remained at the door to stand guard. The rest of the soldiers led them past the elevators to the stairs. The soldier in front checked around all corners so that nothing could surprise him. Once they got to the third floor, he led them though the door and to an office just down the hall. Lieutenant McCray knocked. "Enter," came the call.

The soldiers still with them stayed outside while Lieutenants McCray and Hyde went in the office with the Princes.

"Please sit," said General Levin. She looked young; she was probably still in her early twenties or late teens, and yet, her face told of wisdom that came only with great age. She had to be a Battle School brat. Why else would someone so young be entrusted with command? Anticipating the question about her age, she answered it. "Before you say anything about my age, yes, I'm a Command School graduate. I was on Eros when the famous Jeesh won the war, but you see, unlike the Jeesh, I was sent home immediately."

The Princes nodded their comprehension. "Now that we have that out of the way, I'm going to cut to the chase."

"We have to go into hiding, don't we?" said Lex.

General Levin nodded.

"Then we'll need to split up," said Alice.

General Levin nodded again.

"No. Absolutely not," said Linda.

"We'll all be safer if we do," Alice said.

"People from all corners of the world will be looking for you, most notably, Achilles de Flandres," said General Levin.

"It'll change the profile of what they're looking for. Instead of parents and two teenage daughters, you'll be two adults," said Alice.

Linda and Marty understood, they didn't like it, but they knew it was needed. There was silence for a moment.

"So when do we leave?" Alice asked.

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NOTE: So, what did you think? I wasn't going to kill Alice. After all, she's my first OC and Ender's Ally is my first story. I won't kill her. Yet. Or at all. We'll just have to see.


	23. France, Art, Murder!

NOTE: I could not resist typing this chapter. Seriously. No wait! For cereal. The update's been…tedious. Anyway. Here's the next chapter! It involves quite the digression. Enjoy!

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With the pensions that Graff had procured for the Jeesh, they could afford to go anywhere. On the plane ride, Alice and Lex decided to lay low. Finesse would be needed for a while. One, maybe two bags; no ritzy hotels; pay cash for everything. And above all, don't stay in one place for too long.

The fact that their faces, Alice's in particular, were so recognizable didn't help in the slightest. They couldn't talk to their parents at all, but as March faded into April, Linda's due date was fast approaching.

They chose to go to Rome first. Lex chose the location. They ate dinner in a shabby café across the street from the Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Coliseum. When they went back to their hotel, the checked their desks for any messages.

Alice sat down. The light at the corner of her desk and a beep told her that there was a message. She scanned it once and read it aloud, albeit softly, to Lex.

_From dutchboy(at)netherlands(.)gov_

_To royalsandiegan(at)us(.gov)_

_I got your contact information from a mutual friend. I'm sure you know who I mean. _

_I…really miss you. (Oh lord that sounded terrible, but you know me. I'm not good with words…)_

_I'm on the run. I won't tell you where. I have no idea where you are and I think that's a great thing. But I do know who you're traveling with. Someone's with me- someone who misses your companion very much._

_We need to talk. Face to face. Meet me in Paris tomorrow in front of the Louvre. Four pm. Right in front of the entrance. Make sure you two aren't followed._

_Dink_

Silence.

"A-are you sure?" Lex asked, her voice quivering.

"If our Greek friend can write to me from this address, then he must already rule the world," said Alice. "We're going."

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They landed in Paris the next day exhausted. Even though it was only an hour and a half long flight, the jet lag was debilitating. In spite of that, adrenaline kept them awake. They bought trench coats and took a taxi to the Louvre, its pyramidal structure gleaming in the mist.

They stood of to the right, hair tied back into ponytails. Seeing a bench, they sat down. It was just before they were due to meet Dink and his companion- 3:56pm. Alice glanced nervously at her watch.

"They'll be here. Don't worry," said Lex.

Alice glanced at her. "But what if that wasn't him?"

"You didn't respond to the email, right?" asked Lex.

"No; you know I never do that," said Alice. "What if the email wasn't really from him?"

"He'll be here," insisted Lex.

Alice glanced at her watch again. "3:59, Lex."

Lex put a hand on Alice's shoulder. They were quiet for a time. "Who _is_ Dink traveling with?"

"He didn't say."

"You think-"

"Maybe."

"I hope so."

"Well, you're not alone."

Alice checked her watch again. 4:01pm. Someone tapped her shoulder. She sprang up and turned around, readying herself for a fight. It was Dink. He opened his arms.

Alice emitted an uncharacteristic squeal. She jumped on top of the bench and tackled Dink to the ground.

"I missed you too, Alice." Still on the ground, Dink held her tightly.

Only then did Lex realize that Dink's companion was Wabe. Lex ran around the bench and held him tightly.

And so they remained.

Reluctant to relinquish his hold on her, Wabe spoke from where he was. "We may be followed. We should leave."

From the ground, Alice agreed. "Where to?"

Lex sighed contentedly. "Anywhere…"

"Well, we could go _inside_ the Louvre," said Dink.

"Why not?" Reluctantly, Alice stood up. She pulled Dink up with her. "We can't stay too long though."

"It _would_ be nice to see the art. Especially the Mona Lisa," said Lex.

Wabe recoiled slightly in surprise. "Since when have _you_ cared about art?"

"Not art, culture. I'd like to see something other than fighting or bloodshed for once," said Lex firmly.

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They left the museum, and climbed into another taxi just outside the Louvre. The cab driver gave Alice a bad feeling, but she dismissed it. They drove off. After a while, Alice looked behind them. There was a car that had been following them for quite some time now. It was unmarked, a regular car. But the driver looked official, like he meant business.

Troubled, Alice faced the front as the cab turned into an alleyway. Alice pushed Dink down (Wabe and Lex went down with him) and yelled "Duck!" just as she reached out to grab the cabby's gun. "Don't move!" He eyes didn't leave the cabby even as she turned her head. "Lex, is there a car behind us?"

Lex turned around. "Yeah. Why?"

"Is he stopped?"

"He's getting out! Alice, who is he?"

"I don't know, but he might be friendly."

The man came up to the window. "Are you four all right?"

"Yes. Now who are you?" asked Alice, gun still trained on the cabby.

"One who would help," said the man. "Move aside and get out of the car." They did, figuring that since he wasn't trying to kill them, they could trust him for the time being. "Plug your ears." After making sure that they had, he calmly put his pistol up to the cabby's temple and shot. Alice heard it, but it didn't hurt her ability to hear, like it had when Lieutenant McCray shot the man in front of her. "Get in the car," said the man.

Alice crossed her arms. "Not until you tell us who you are!" The rest of the group nodded their concurrence.

The man sighed exasperatedly. "I'll tell you later! Let's go!" He gestured at the car urgently. "There are people after you!"

"Sold," said Dink as he pulled Alice into the car by the wrist.

Though everyone had misgivings, this man was certainly better than a cabby who was about to shoot them all. They crammed together in the back seat.

"Ok, now let's have answers! For starters, who are you? Who do you work for? And where are you taking us?" Alice crossed her arms and did her best to look pissed off and menacing.

"I won't tell you anything _yet. _You'll have to wait until we get on the jet in case this mission is compromised." Now that they had heard him speak at length, they could hear a slight accent, though they couldn't place it.

"So we're just supposed to trust you blindly," said Alice with disdain. It wasn't a question.

The man sighed. "I really will tell you everything as soon as we're on the jet."

And there was silence in the car until the car pulled directly onto Charles De Gaulle International Airport's runway. The car drove over to a sleek, unmarked jet. There were uniformed men and women bustling about, scrupulously making sure that they didn't look at the group.

They finally boarded the plane and the man ushered them in. He sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. Alice, Lex, Dink and Wabe sat down on a row of seats in front of him.

The inside of the jet was immaculate. It had two couches facing each other, where the five of them now sat. Towards the cockpit, there was a bathroom and a kitchenette. Next to the couches, there were two rows of seats, each with a table in between them.

"If you tell us that you _still_ won't tell us anything, I _will_ shoot you," said Alice, keeping a firm hold on the dead cabby's pistol.

The man laughed slightly. "I will, but you'll have to wait until we take off."

Alice glared at him. "No. We want answers now."

Surprisingly, the man didn't argue. He held up his hands in surrender. "All right! I'll tell you!"

_Good choice,_ thought Alice.

The plane began to move.

"My name is Sir Michael Pennington. I work for her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth XV," said Michael. "I was sent by the queen to take you to London. Now, I believe I've answered three of your questions."

Their nostrils flared.

"What?" Alice raised the gun slightly. "You take us home. Now."

He laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't do that." The plane gained altitude.

"Do you know where my parents are?" Lex glared at Michael. "Well? Do you?"

"They are _safe_ in London," said Michael with a smirk.

"I don't buy it." Lex walked straight up to Michael where he sat and stared him down. She didn't even flinch as Michael pulled out his pistol and stood up.

"Sit down," ordered Michael.

Lex glared at him again. "Bastard."

Michael sneered. He pistol whipped Lex so hard that she fell to the floor, unconscious. He glared at the rest of them. "Unless you want to end up like this one," he said gesturing to Lex with the gun, "then I suggest that you all come quietly. We'll soon be in London."

They picked up Lex's limp form and laid her down on the couch, her head in Wabe's lap. Alice and Dink went to the chairs directly behind her. Michael walked over to Alice and took the gun from her.

The rest of the flight passed without incident.

Lex woke up a few minutes later as they started their decent into London. They were immediately taken to The Compound, London's new military headquarters, located just outside the city limits. As they drove up to The Compound, Alice remarked with mirth, "Well, this is bleak."

Dink, Wabe and Lex all gave weak laughs.

Michael led them straight to the administration building. He took them through several corridors and up a few flights of stairs. He made a right and saw their destination ahead—the General's conference room. Michael knocked. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door.

There was a war council going on. The general was standing over a map of the world, palms outstretched; he was surrounded by his lieutenants. The man looked older- he was probably about forty five years old, Alice guessed. His hair was fiery red, his skin pale, eyes a dark shade of brown. He looked over. "Ahh, Michael, my good man." He strode over to the five of them. "I take it these are the four I asked for- Momette, Meeker and the Princes."

"Yes, sir," said Michael.

"You are dismissed, Pennington."

Michael left.

"Now you four. You are to be Chief Strategists for Great Britain," said the general with an arrogant smile.

Dink crossed his arms and leaned on one foot. "And just why would we?"

"Leverage." He gestured with his left hand. "Take a look at the screen, if you would."

They looked. A frightening images met their eyes- a cell. There were four people inside. Linda and Marty Prince, and Hugo and Payton Meeker. Linda apparently hadn't had the twins yet, but they due date had to be soon- her belly was enormous!

"You can't do this!" yelled Wabe.

The general sneered. "I can and I will."

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NOTE: Ooooooh! Evil British spies! Not the typical portrayal of the British spies, huh? It's a brilliant power play.


End file.
